


Harry Lupin Potter and the Path to Self Worth

by RoleplayFanfics



Series: Son of a Werewolf - A Harry Potter reimagining [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Changes to the canon, Crabbe and Goyle have actual character development, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter Friendship, Draco Malfoy learns to use actual facts and logic for his arguments, First of a series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry is placed in Slytherin, Harry pov, Humor, LGBTQ Themes, LGBTQ+ fiction, More Neville for the people, Not Canon Compliant, Occasional Remus POV, Parody, Queer Themes, Remus raised Harry Potter as his child, lore changes, major story changes, queer fiction, rewriting harry potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 76,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25587061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoleplayFanfics/pseuds/RoleplayFanfics
Summary: “Dad, dad! It came! My letter came!” The child’s enthusiastic voice could be heard throughout the house as he came dashing towards the werewolf, clashing into him in excitement. The clash turned into a hug, as was a rather common occurrence in the Lupin household. Harry was waving a letter in his hand, the letter of acceptance to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.---Harry Lupin Potter has been raised by Remus Lupin, and thus his outlook and understanding of the world around him and wizarding society is fundamentally different, as he begins his first year at Hogwarts.
Series: Son of a Werewolf - A Harry Potter reimagining [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854529
Comments: 78
Kudos: 303





	1. Prologue - Son of a Werewolf

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a reimagining of the Harry Potter series, and is written purely without profit, claiming no ownership of content originating from J.K.Rowling’s book series. 
> 
> That being said, this reimagining focuses strongly on the importance of identity and one’s right to their own identity and person. Even more so to be in charge of one’s own identity. The series further explores sound logic, humane approaches and will make changes to the world of Harry Potter in attempts to add logic and reason to concepts which the audience may know differently. 
> 
> You may find yourself disagreeing with changes and portrayals of the work, and the characters; if you find that this work is not suitable for your tastes, thank you for checking it out. This work will deviate from the canon, both in past and present story points. No excessive commentary is going to result in changes of the plot-line and character portrayals after audience preferences unless deemed absolutely necessary by the fanfiction authors. 
> 
> We hope you find joy and potentially even comfort and reassurance in this work! 
> 
> Written by Teddy.  
> Edited and co-written by Nathan.  
> Revised lore by Nathan. 
> 
> Do not copy this work onto other pages without proper crediting of the both of us, including our AO3 account. 
> 
> \---
> 
> So, we might have gone entirely bonkers, attempting this long of a series of works, but it’s summer vacation, in the middle of a pandemic and the Universities are partly closed down; we do have the time. This does not mean we’ve abandoned the other HP series roleplay turned fanfiction, or other unfinished works.

“Dad, dad! It came! My letter came!” The child’s enthusiastic voice could be heard throughout the house as he came dashing towards the werewolf, clashing into him in excitement. The clash turned into a hug, as was a rather common occurrence in the Lupin household.

Remus looked down upon his child, and carefully put his large hand on the boy’s head, ruffling his hair. “Of course your letter came. Did you doubt it?” He detangled himself from his son’s hug and knelt down to look at the letter which Harry Potter was waving about. 

“There is always a possibility that the unexpected will happen.” Harry explained, sounding much older than he was, as a serious expression crossed his face. “Although I was rather certain that the letter would come, there was also a possibility that it wouldn’t, and I was prepared for that.” 

The werewolf smiled at his son. “Is that really how I sound?” 

“Most of the time, yes.” Harry grinned at him. “Can I open it now, please?” 

“It’s your letter, of course you can open it.” The tall man stepped back a little, as to give the child some space. It would not do to hover about when his son was opening the special letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

Harry restrained himself as he opened the envelope, pulling out the letter with shaking hands. He took a deep breath and then began to read. “Dear Mr. Lupin Potter- Dad!” The child turned towards Remus, his eyes shining with delight. “It says Lupin Potter! It says my name!” 

The werewolf smiled, feeling his chest heat up with delight and emotion over his son’s enthusiasm over seeing Remus’ surname before his own. 

Remus Lupin had never planned on becoming a father. 

He had a hard enough time believing that he had friends, children were simply too much to even imagine. The idea of a werewolf starting a family was so fundamentally wrong in the eyes of the Wizarding World that it had become all but a forbidden dream to keep during long nights when the forbidden thoughts bloomed. No, he had expected to make do with the friends he had and treasured, and manage with the little he had for the rest of his life. 

Remus had lost everything in one night. 

He had gone to sleep and woken up with three of his best friends murdered, and the last friend being accused of murder. The werewolf had considered remaining where he was, not getting involved with anything due to not wanting to cause himself more pain. However, he learnt that Harry Potter was still alive. The child of two of his best friends was still alive, and without anyone to care for him. He might have lost one Godfather, but Lily had selected Remus as her pick for Harry’s second Godfather. 

Lily Potter was an impressive woman. 

She was opinionated, and one of few people who didn’t just adore James Potter for everything he was, but who actively strove to make him a better person. She was a woman who could see good in most people, and who was intent on always learning more about the things she didn’t understand. As a skilled potion brewer, she had brewed Remus’ werewolf potion for him, so that he wouldn’t have to go to someone who disapproved of werewolves for his basic right to remain sane. She used to say that the last thing he needed was being reported to the Ministry for something he had never asked for and couldn't help in the first place. Lily was one of very few people who saw the man before the beast, and Remus had adored that about her. 

Remus had found it hard to speak to her, but she found it beyond natural to speak to him. During their times together, he would mostly sit and listen to her speak about anything and everything. James had told Sirius first when they realised that she was pregnant, but Lily had come to Remus as the one she wanted to tell first. When she told him, she continued to ask if he wanted to be Harry’s second Godfather, after Sirius. She had confessed at the time that although she wanted to trust her husband’s judgement, she doubted Sirius' capability of being a father. She had even admitted to fearing that he might die due to his previously displayed reckless behaviors, not to mention the risk they were all currently at, and she didn’t want her child to become lost to her sister when there was a much better alternative right in front of them.

He had accepted, but he had never dared imagine that he would lose all his friends in one night. So when the time came, he had almost forgotten what he had been asked to do. In a frenzy of emotion and purpose, he had run from his home and apparated to their home. Luckily enough, Dumbledore had been there at the time, alongside Minerva McGonagall and the Minister of Magic. Harry had been hurt in the battle, but he was alive. If Harry hadn’t been recovering through the night, Remus might have missed his chance to ever see him again. 

He had barged inside, ignoring the Aurors who tried to stop him from entering the Potter household, and found a small crowd of people. “I’m his Godfather!” In hindsight, there must have been a better way to announce himself than to yell that at the Minister of Magic while a particularly brave Auror tried to wrestle him back. “I’m his Godfather… I’m… I’m his Godfather.” He tried again, but failed to make himself any more coherent. 

Remus could still recall the scene so very clearly in his mind. Dumbledore had turned to him, holding baby Harry in his arms. His eyes had lit up with a shine of mischievousness and purpose, and he had turned towards the Minister. “Well, Cornelius, I think that effectively puts a halt to this discussion. There is only one legal option as it is now.” He signalled for the Aurors to let Remus in, and then carefully held out Harry towards him. 

The werewolf had approached like a shy dog, slowly and gently accepting the little nest of blankets which held the boy who was now legally his son. McGonagall looked worried at the exchange. “Watch his head.” She commented, looking like she’d much rather entrust herself with the duty of holding a child rather than leaving it to the men currently in her presence. 

Remus minded his head, and looked down upon the tiny little thing who would grow up to be a sentient human being one day. He already had a thick collection of hair on his head, and brilliantly green eyes which were now shut as the boy was in a deep sleep. On his forehead was a brilliantly red and crude scar in the shape of lightning. Remus looked upon the sleeping face of the child, and whatever had kept him from crying evaporated and he broke down sobbing. He sank to his knees, holding the child close to himself while making sure that Harry wasn’t crushed or suffocated in his arms. McGonagall was by his side in a heartbeat, bending down to pat his back and head, speaking to him in a subtle, motherly voice.

“Albus…” The Minister of Magic whined more than he spoke. “Isn’t this a werewolf? How could a werewolf possibly be a better alternative than a real magic family who will love and adore him? Why, then the Muggles are an even better alternative than allowing him to grow up as the son of a werewolf.” The man wasn’t even trying to hide his distaste for Remus and his condition. 

“Now, now, you have no power in this situation.” Dumbledore hummed, completely unfazed by the situation. He seemed to be in far better a mood than he had before the werewolf came rushing inside. “James and Lily have legally declared Remus Lupin to be Harry Potter’s Godfather. Before he showed up, there was an argument to be made in what would be the best for Harry, but as it is now, the argument has been legally concluded. Mr. Lupin here has claimed his son, and you hold no power to take him away.” 

The Minister pouted in response. “Werewolves are dangerous to whatever they are close to. You cannot expect me to sit back and let that beast make off with the Wizarding World’s biggest hero since… since… Merlin!” 

Remus was hearing their conversation through his crying, but he had no energy to involve himself in the discussion. It was all he could do to try and breathe and not wake little Harry with his crying. He wasn’t even surprised that the Minister knew of his condition, even though he wasn’t legally registered as a werewolf, but he never did manage to figure out exactly how Cornelius Fudge knew. 

“He is, in fact, not any less a wizard than you or me. I take complete responsibility for his actions and I vouch that he is the best choice for Harry Potter. I fully condone Remus Lupin and if the Ministry is so very concerned about Harry’s safety then it will distribute the Lycanthropy potion to Mr. Lupin for the rest of his life, without any cost to Mr. Lupin himself.” 

Fudge choked on air. “You mean to say that the Ministry will hand a werewolf free potions every month for the rest of his life… Without any payment on our part?” He looked like a toad, his eyes seemed to threaten to jump out of their sockets. 

“You claim to care about Harry Potter’s safety.” Dumbledore hummed, looking back at the crying werewolf and his child. “If you truly are so worried about his safety and his parents’ choice of Godfather, that is what you will have to do.” 

Fudge was defeated. He knew that Dumbledore was right, and at this point, any objection was but childish whining. 

Smelling his victory, Dumbledore calmly continued. “Of course, the potion will be sent as discreetly as possible, and no one shall utter a word about what became of Harry Potter. For all the Wizarding World will know, Harry has gone to live with his Muggle relatives. If anyone breathes a word about Remus Lupin’s condition to the papers, or otherwise let it leak, that person will respond to me.” There was no arguing with a man like Dumbledore, and everything was arranged to allow Harry to come live with Remus. 

When Harry had grown older, he had realised that his name was different from his father’s, and had questioned as to why that was. Remus has always been honest that he was not Harry’s biological father, but that he loved him all the same. Harry had never cared about it, for in his eyes, he only had one real father and that was Remus. There might have been people he never knew whom he was connected to by blood, but they were gone, he had never once met them, and they had never been there for the child. Blood wasn’t some miraculous connection to create family bonds, Remus did not raise his son to think like the communities of Pureblooded mages. 

After noticing that their names were different, Harry had decided that he wanted to change his name to match Remus’. This decision proved to be much harder than Harry had expected. He had begun by sending in requests to have his name changed to Harry Lupin, but they had all been rejected due to vague reasons. Those requests being mostly letters to the Ministry of Magic, with the help of the family contact, seeing the fact that Harry was still very young. However, Harry was stubborn, and as he grew a little older he changed his approach to become Harry Lupin Potter, but his applications were yet again rejected. After a long battle back and forth, Harry had finally broken together and cried, thinking that he wasn’t worthy of being a ‘Lupin.’ 

Remus had found him in his room, crying over his rejection of identity. He might have been a child, but children weren’t always as clueless over their identity as adults wanted to believe. He had come to calm his child, and Harry had climbed up in his lap, hugging him as he sobbed about not wanting to be a Potter anymore. His father had done his best to explain to him what his name meant and how it was viewed by the Wizarding World. He had never hid Harry’s fame from him, but he had continuously tried to make certain that the young boy knew what fame meant, and that it could lead to a collection of consequences, both good and bad. 

“But I’m not all that!” Harry had cried, hiding his face against Remus’ shirt. “I’m not just a baby who survived, I’ve grown up now. I don’t want to be stuck as the child of people I don’t know for the sake of other people’s convenience. Why can’t I be allowed to just be me?” 

Remus was certain in that moment, that few things truly hurt as much as having one’s identity and existence invalidated for the convenience of people who didn’t really care about the person. He wanted to assure the boy that he would be allowed to change his name in the future, but he knew far too well how cruel the system could be. He had hugged his child and told him to keep on introducing himself with his preferred name. Even if people would force the name upon him in text, it was Harry’s right to state his name whatever way he wished out loud. Outside of legal contexts, there was no reason for him to not be addressed the way he wanted to. 

Thus, when Harry read his name as Lupin Potter, he had achieved one of his dreams. It was all Remus could do but be thankful towards Dumbledore, who most likely had a hand in the inclusion of ‘Lupin’ in Harry’s name. 

“What else does it say?” The werewolf encouraged his son to continue reading. 

Harry took a deep breath and continued reading out loud. “We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. The opening ceremony will be held on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.” He finished reading, looking at his father for confirmation that he had read everything correctly, and then fished about in the envelope for the list of books and equipment. “Oh this list is long…” 

Harry handed it to his dad, who accepted it and began reading. He nodded. “It’s pretty much as I remember it. I suppose we have to go to Diagon Alley then,” he concluded.

Remus did not like places with a lot of people. As a werewolf, there were so many impressions everywhere that he very quickly became antsy and overloaded in big crowds. Diagon Alley was all the worse due to all the various strong scents from the many potion shops. 

The boy knew that his father had troubles with crowds, and swiftly offered that he could go alone. Of course, he was softly reprimanded for thinking that his dad would rather send an eleven year old to London on his own. Raising a child had meant overcoming some of his personal issues for the sake of the child, and he would always have his child’s best interest in mind before anything else. Harry apologised, and after a quick hug, they sat down together to write that Harry was accepting the invitation to Hogwarts. Remus had not seen him quite as proud as when he signed Harry Lupin Potter at the bottom of the page. 

Harry begged his dad to use a spell to make the ink dry faster, and Remus agreed. Normally, he wouldn’t, as he did not support the idea that magic should be used for everyday tasks which could easily be completed by hand. However, today, it didn’t seem that big of a deal to let Harry have his way. 

The young wizard grabbed his letter and placed it inside of an envelope. After sealing it with wax, he rushed to wake the owl up so that the answer could be sent right away. Agrippa the owl was annoyed to have been awakened in the middle of the day, but when the boy explained to him that he needed him to deliver his very important Hogwarts acceptance letter, the owl seemed to forgive the boy of his rudeness and accept the envelope. 

Harry waved Agrippa off by the window and turned back to his dad, beaming at him before jumping into his arms. “I’m going to Hogwarts!” He cooed as he pressed his face against his dad’s shoulder. He had been raised by a werewolf after all, it was only natural that he had adapted some of Remus’ doglike behaviors. 

“Yes you are.” He chuckled and patted his son on the back. 

“I’m going to be a great wizard, just like my dad.” The boy stated with certainty, leaning back to look after the owl one more time. 

“I’m sure you will.” The werewolf nodded. 

“I can’t wait to see all the things, oh, do you think the Whomping Willow is still there?” Harry’s green eyes shone up at the man. 

“And just how would they have been able to move it?” Remus turned away from the window with his son on his arm, heading into the kitchen to make lunch as Harry Lupin Potter continued to ramble about all things Hogwarts, and all the things he wanted to see and do when he got there. 


	2. Chapter 1 - In which Harry Lupin Potter leaves his home and befriends a toad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malfoy scoffed. “Please, what House other than Slytherin is there really? Hufflepuffs are embarrassing on every front, Ravenclaws are too much, and Gryffindors are just… ew.” 
> 
> Harry nodded, trying very hard to seem like the other’s opinion was valuable, before he continued. “My dad always says that if your opinion is worth anything, you should be able to write a 2000 words essay on it, using at least three academic sources. I have yet to hear any factual reasons as to why the other Houses would be worth less than Slytherin.” 

The Hogwarts Express was a beast sculpted out of red metal. It was bright, loud, and looked impossibly big in the eyes of the eleven year old boy who was holding on to his dad’s hand. He had seen pictures of the Express in books before, but seeing all the people swarm around it like little ants while standing next to the giant locomotive was even more humbling than he had imagined. 

Harry squeezed his dad’s hand once more, for he knew well that his dad was bad with crowds and he wanted to let him know that he was there for him. Remus Lupin squeezed his hand back, he was clearly antsy from all the people and noises, but he would be damned before he let himself be stopped when his son needed him. They found a good spot to get on, by the end of the train, and Remus helped Harry lift his bag up onto it. 

“Have you got everything?” His dad asked, smiling at him in that strange kind of half proud, half sad kind of way which only parents can do. 

“I do.” Harry reassured him. “Will you be alright without me?” 

The werewolf laughed and shook his head. “I will be hopelessly lonely, so you have to make sure to write to me every month.” He teased his son. 

“I will write every day.” Harry’s face turned serious, and he nodded solemnly. 

“You’ll tire Agrippa out too much that way.” Remus reminded him. “I’ll be happy as long as you write at all.” 

Harry bit his lower lip and then nodded again. “Okay, every week then.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by the loud sound of the whistle, causing Remus to cover his ears and groan. Harry leaned forward to hug him, and was hugged in return. 

“Don’t forget your potion.” He told the man. 

“I won’t. I love you, Harry, take care and have fun.” 

“Love you too, dad.” 

They embraced again, and Remus waved him off as Harry pulled his heavy bag with him. They had arrived earlier than most people as to make it easier for Remus to handle all the noise and people, and as Harry had entered through the back of the train, it didn’t take him long to find an empty compartment. He slipped inside and after some struggling, managed to lift his bag up on the shelf. Agrippa, the family owl, was not with him, and Harry was suddenly aware over how lonely it was to be in an empty room. 

Luckily for him, he wasn’t alone for very long. The doors slid open and a pale face peeked inside. Judging by the way the boy looked, he was also a first year, as his robes were without colors and he wore a plain grey tie rather than one in any of the house colors. He had pale hair and eyebrows, and some manner of misguided air of authority around him. Harry knew it was misguided because people did not inherently have authority over one another, especially not as children. Behind the pale boy stood two larger boys, their darker complexions made the blonde boy look all the paler than he probably looked next to a person who didn’t have black hair. 

“Are you here to attend your first year?” The blonde boy spoke, he had the type of voice which made him seem like the type who enjoyed using complex words to confuse people he found less than himself. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most pleasant of first impressions.

“Yes, I am. What about you?” Harry responded, smiling politely. 

“Yes, us too. You have more than enough room, you don’t mind if we join, do you?” The blonde spoke for his whole group of friends. It was clear that he wasn’t really asking but demanding that they be allowed to use the same compartment. 

“Please do.” He showed towards the empty seats. The group entered after the invitation. 

“I’m Draco Malfoy.” The blonde boy slid into the seat in front of Harry, holding out his hand for him to shake, as the large boys behind him pulled what was likely to be his luggage inside. As he said his name, he pushed his chest out, just to accentuate how proud he was over his name. 

“Harry Lupin.” Harry said innocently, taking the hand which was offered to him. Malfoy was surprisingly cold to the touch, and his hands were soft, like they hadn’t really been used for anything but easy work throughout their lives. 

“This is Crabbe and Goyle.” Malfoy continued, as one of the big boys sat down next to Harry and the other one next to the blonde. Harry couldn’t help but think that Crabbe’s face looked a bit like an oval in terms of shape and that Goyle’s was probably the roundest he had ever seen. He didn’t think anything of it, but it was an easy way to tell them apart right after just having met them. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Harry held out his hand towards the one next to him. 

Goyle looked at the hand as if it was the strangest thing he had ever seen, and then looked at Malfoy as if to confirm if he should touch it or not. Harry, too, glanced at the blonde, wondering why the tall boy was looking at him. Crabbe, who seemed generally confused, also turned to look at the ringleader. Their stares seemed to make Malfoy uncomfortable, and he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. 

“Shake his hand, Goyle, why are you looking at me for?” He quickly spat out his displeasure and Goyle turned to shake Harry’s hand. It was slightly wet from sweat, but the son of a werewolf didn’t mind. 

“Gregory Goyle. But everyone calls me Goyle.” His voice was thick, making it sound like his throat was full of syrup. 

“Just Harry is fine on my part.” He leaned forward to shake Crabbe’s hand as well. His hand was slightly less sweaty than the round boy’s had been. 

“Vincent Crabbe. Uh, I guess Vince is fine, I don’t like Vincent so just don’t use that and we’re fine.” 

“Anyways…!” Malfoy seemed like he was about to say something else, as to turn the conversation back to focus on something he wanted to talk about, rather than having his henchmen talk to the new person who was Harry. However, he didn’t manage very far before the loud whistle of the Hogwarts Express interrupted him. 

The train began to roll and Harry quickly jumped at the window so that he could wind it down and wave to his dad. Remus was standing by the wall, at the far back of the crowd, but his tall figure was so very easy to find and recognise that Harry had no problems spotting him. They waved at one another, and Harry noticed that his dad seemed to choke back tears as the train took off. 

Harry sat back down and pushed the window shut. When he sat back down, he noticed that Malfoy was staring at him as if he had grown a second head. Next to him, even Crabbe seemed to have noticed something. 

“...What?” The green eyed boy asked, feeling a little weirded out by their looks. 

“You… You’re Harry Potter.” Malfoy stated, sounding surprisingly offended. 

Only now did Harry notice that the wind had messed up his hair, pulling it back to revealing his scar. He quickly patted it back in place, giving a shrug in response. His dad had long since warned him that people were likely to behave weirdly around him when they learned about him being Harry Potter. Remus had told him that many people would idolise him, and treat him like a hero, and that some people would loathe him for complicated reasons. There was no telling how anyone would react to learning who he was, but it was important to remember that no matter their reaction, Harry was just Harry. Their reactions had nothing to do with him, and he had to remember that when they described him a personality he wasn’t in favor of their own preferences. 

“It’s Harry Lupin Potter. Potter comes after Lupin.” Harry corrected the blonde boy. Next to Malfoy, Crabbe nodded, as if his comment was the most natural conclusion in the world. 

The boy in front of him almost pouted. “Why were you trying to hide that from me?” He demanded an explanation. 

“I wasn’t trying to hide it from you.” Harry corrected him politely. “I’ve been called Lupin all my life by people around me, I hardly even know this Potter person, so I just went with what was the most natural to me.” 

Crabbe and Goyle nodded, they were clearly on the same page as Harry on this. 

“I would just rather not make it a big deal, so if you’d just call me Lupin, that would be great.” The green eyed boy concluded. 

Malfoy seemed to think for a bit, and then came to the conclusion that Harry’s request was rather understandable. Perhaps he saw it as being part of a secret club of sorts, where he was trusted enough to know the secret of Harry’s identity. “What House do you want to be sorted into then Po-L...Lupin?” At least he was trying, and trying was definitely enough. “I for one know that if I don’t end up in Slytherin, I will quit the school. Ugh, imagine the shame of being in one of the other Houses…” Malfoy’s tone had quickly gone from slightly annoying to rather insufferable. However, Harry hadn’t been raised to be rude simply because somebody was being difficult. 

“Why is that a bad thing?” Harry asked, leaning his head to the side with an ever polite smile on his face. His father had told him a lot of things about the Houses, and he was prepared for any bigotry which might befall before him. In fact, he had secretly practiced for such a scenario. This was it. He was ready. 

Malfoy scoffed. “Please, what House other than Slytherin is there really? Hufflepuffs are embarrassing on every front, Ravenclaws are too much, and Gryffindors are just… ew.” 

Harry nodded, trying very hard to seem like the other’s opinion was valuable, before he continued. “My dad always says that if your opinion is worth anything, you should be able to write a 2000 words essay on it, using at least three academic sources. I have yet to hear any factual reasons as to why the other Houses would be worth less than Slytherin.” 

Malfoy looked like he had been slapped, while Crabbe and Goyle struggled to follow what was happening. “...What is noteworthy about any other Houses? What have they produced in terms of mages when compared to Slytherin?” The blonde boy tried again. 

“As a matter of fact,” Harry began.”The Hufflepuff House has produced a great number of successful and influential members of the Wizarding World. Such as Magizoologist Newton Scamander, whose very book we have as a part of our curriculum and which is waiting for you in your trunk. Other mages to stem from the House are Arithmancer Bridget Wenlock, and former Minister for Magic Artemisia Lufkin. What generally makes Hufflepuff differ from the other Houses is the fact that they don't tend to boast about these accomplishments.” He found immense satisfaction in the look on the other boy’s face. It felt good to have been prepared for this, and he was immensely thankful towards his dad for telling him these things. “Also, Hufflepuff is the House which has produced the fewest Dark Wizards throughout its history, which is more than a noteworthy feat.” 

Malfoy gaped at him. His two lackeys seemed completely convinced that Harry was right, which of course, logically speaking, he was. It had been so worth it to memorise all those facts, for the pure satisfaction in having proven the stuck up blonde wrong. 

“As for noticeable Ravenclaw accomplishments…” Harry was about to continue, but there was a knock on the doors and they were pushed open to reveal a huge collection of hair. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” The girl’s voice was darker than Harry had expected, judging from her very girlish face. “Has anyone of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his.” 

Crabbe and Goyle looked at one another and then at Malfoy. The blonde spoke, as if he was the authority of all of them. “None of us has seen a toad.” He stated. 

“Oh.” The girl with the giant bird’s nest of hair glanced around the compartment. “...Were you talking about the history of Hogwarts by any chance, I heard something about the accomplishments of Ravenclaw House students.” 

Harry got the feeling that Malfoy was about to say something stupid, so he interrupted. “Yeah, we were just talking about why the Hufflepuff House is being valued as less despite many noteworthy students, including a famous author and a Minister of Magic.” 

The girl nodded. “I read about that in _Hogwarts: A History_.” 

“Either way, do you need help to look for that toad?” Harry was already halfway out of his seat. 

“If you would, that would be very kind.” She encouraged him and Harry quickly made his way out of the compartment. 

“See you in a bit Malfoy, Goyle, Vince.” He waved as the girl shut the door behind him. 

“I’m…” The girl stopped for a second before she continued, looking a little scared to speak up. “Hermione Granger.” 

“I’m Harry Lupin.” They shook hands, and Harry couldn’t help but notice that she was shaking slightly. “Hermione… What a beautiful name.” 

The girl blushed a deep scarlet, Harry could more or less smell the happiness coming off her. “Thank you. It has its roots in Muggle mythology, Greek mythology, the name means princess of the messenger God Hermes, she was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen of Troy.” 

Harry blinked at her, but didn’t stop smiling. “I’m afraid I don’t know any of what you are talking about, but it sounds interesting. I’d love to hear more about it some other day, but I think we should look for that toad first.” 

Her cheeks turned even redder, however that was possible. “You… didn’t think that was weird of me? To just blab about Muggle culture like that?” 

“Not really, I think muggle culture is interesting, but I’ve never really gotten into studying it.” He knew for a fact that he even had Muggle relatives, even if he had never met them. Harry began searching around him for any signs of lost toads. “What places have you checked so far?” 

“I started in the far back, so anything after this compartment I haven’t checked.” She pointed as she spoke. 

“Alright, I will start here then.” Harry knocked on the next door and leaned in to ask about the toad. 

They continued to search together, politely asking people until Harry came across a mostly empty compartment, in which a lonely red haired boy sat, munching on a piece of dry looking bread, as he stared out at the world passing by. His tie was a mess, it looked like someone who had no idea how to tie one had made an attempt and then given up. He looked very lonely where he sat. 

“Hi there.” Harry said, cheerfully. The boy looked over at him with a sullen expression on his face. 

“...Hi.” He tried to push his sandwich back into his pocket. “Do you want something?” 

“I’m looking for a toad, a guy named Neville has lost his.” The response was almost automatic by this point. 

“There is one over there, is that it?” The red head pointed. Harry leaned in and looked up towards the luggage section, where a fat toad was sitting. It only now occurred to Harry that he had no idea what the bloody toad looked like.

“Uh… Ms. Granger?” Harry called for the girl, who came as he called for her. “Is that it?” He pointed as well, and the girl frowned. 

“It matches the description, I think… I will just go get Neville, can you wait here with it?” She asked. 

Harry nodded and stepped inside the compartment, closing the door after himself. “Sorry for the intrusion.” 

The red head shrugged. “Yeah, ‘cause me and my invisible ghost pals were having a great time alone, right Scabbers?” From somewhere, the boy hurled a fat rat out. The rat blinked at the light and tried to get back into its hiding place in the boy’s pocket. 

“You… named your rat Scabbers?” Harry tried to act like the name was completely normal and not strange at all. 

“I didn’t really name him.” The redhead shrugged. “He used to be my brother’s. Fred and George taught me a spell to make him yellow, wanna see?” 

“Sure.” Who were Fred and George? Harry had no clue, but the boy seemed like he really needed some company. 

The red haired boy pulled his wand out, and Harry got the feeling that the thing was far older than he himself was. He pulled the rat out again, and put it on his knee. He took a deep breath and prepared to cast the spell as Granger pulled the door open, followed by a soft looking boy with slightly watery eyes. He looked up at the toad and choked out “Trevor!” The toad was quickly captured and the boy hugged him tightly, earning a displeased croaking noise from Trevor. “Thank you so much!” The boy smiled at both Harry and the girl. 

“Don’t lose him again.” Harry smiled back. 

“You are welcome, Neville.” She beamed back, clearly proud over having managed to help. She glanced at the redhead, and noticed his raised wand. “Oh, you were going to use magic? Well, let’s see it.” She was probably trying to be encouraging, but her words came out as slightly mocking. 

The boy cleared his throat, and spoke a strange little rhyme, before almost whacking his rat with his wand. The rat was pushed slightly to the side, and it looked up at the boy with an insulted expression on its face before crawling back into his pocket. The boy’s face quickly turned into a matching color to his hair. 

“I don’t think that’s a real spell.” Granger shook her bird’s nest of a head. 

“Leave me alone.” The boy muttered, and she quickly did as he asked, walking over to the door and disappearing out. 

Harry glanced after her and then sat down in front of the boy. “I’m Harry Lupin, thank you for finding the toad.” 

“He found me…” The redhead grunted out, staring out the window with red cheeks and slightly watery eyes. “I’m Ron Weasley.” 

“Weasley? I think I’ve read about your dad in The Daily Prophet.” Harry could immediately tell by Weasley’s face that he had made a mistake in mentioning his dad.

“Yeah, so what?” He seemed ready for a fight. 

“Nothing. Uh, your tie is sort of a mess, do you mind if I help you out?” He quickly changed topics. 

Weasley looked poutier than ever, but allowed him to help him with his tie. As Harry worked on it, his bangs slid to the side, and a little bit of his scar became visible. 

“Are you hurt or something?” Despite his grumpy mood, the other boy clearly didn’t mean to be mean when he asked. 

“Huh?” Harry responded, in the middle of tying the tie. “Not that I know of, why do you ask?” 

“You seem to have something on your forehead.” 

“Oh that? It’s old.” Harry finished and stood up, giving the other boy a smile. “I need to get back to my compartment, I’ll see you at Hogwarts?” He made it sound like a question as to make it seem encouraging, but Weasley seemingly wasn’t in the mood for it. 

“I guess yeah?” 

“Uh… see you.” Harry excused himself from the other’s questioning and judging look, and exited the compartment. On his way back to Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe, he thought about all the first years he had encountered so far. He wondered what Houses they would be sorted into and if he would see them all in class no matter what. As he thought of it, he entered the compartment he started from. Malfoy was reading a book, and the two large boys were throwing a small ball between them. 

Malfoy seemed ready for round two of their discussion, and he put his book down with a look of determination. “Now… as for why Gryffindors are little better than canon fodder…”

“Why would you feed a canon?” Interrupted Crabbe. 

“It’s an expression.” Harry said as he took his seat, grinning at Malfoy. “Well then, do tell me all about Gryffindors.” 

Malfoy took a deep breath, and so their discussion began for real. This time, Malfoy was trying to use arguments to a degree even if they tended to come out rather angled, and Harry had a lot of fun with the actual discussion they were having, rather than have Malfoy spout nonsense which he would have had to treat as more than a child’s uninformed opinion. It was fun, both of them seemed to enjoy the discussion, and it made the ride to Hogwarts far quicker and a lot less drawn out than Harry had feared it would be.


	3. Chapter 2 - In which the Sorting Hat comments on the housing system

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Then the professor called his name. “Harry Lupin Potter.” 
> 
> A buzz went through the entire hall. It felt as if a wind had blown through the room, originating from where Harry stood. His heart felt heavy, and the world was swimming before him. He knew that the second he moved, he would forever be labeled Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Never again could he choose to be whoever he wanted to be, for his schoolmates would more likely than notcontinuously force Potter upon him, even if they didn’t mean to do it. Suddenly, it was impossible to move. 

So, for some reason, the first year students were required to take a boat ride over the lake next to Hogwarts for the sake of tradition. Harry had read a great deal about what was in the lake, and he was by no means excited to jump into a tiny little boat and ride across it for the sake of tradition. Still, it was what was required of him, and after taking one look at how low the boat set in the water with both Crabbe and Goyle in it, Harry found himself a seat in the same boat as Hermione Granger and Neville, father of Trevor. He very much tried to distract himself by at least introducing himself to Trevor’s father. 

The ride went smoothly, but Harry stayed as far away from the edges as he could, trying very hard to not look down. The boat rocked somewhere in the middle and the son of a werewolf decided that the rest of the ride was best undertaken with his hands in front of his eyes. 

When they were finally stumbling off the boats onto dry land, Harry almost sat down for a few minutes before agreeing to continue forward. The huge gamekeeper, whose name Harry hadn’t quite caught until that moment, stopped to pat him on the back and tell him that it was fine now. 

Malfoy sauntered up to him when the gamekeeper continued on, looking like someone had just stuffed something stinky down his throat. “That man’s a half-giant, not the type of friend you really want hanging around you. Are you alright, did he hurt you with his brute strength?” 

Harry blinked at the other in return. “I’m fine, but why in Merlin’s beard’s name would it be a bad thing to have a half-giant as my friend?” 

The Pureblood rolled his eyes. “Lupin, please… You really don’t know anything about giants? They are morons, the lot of them. Only big and strong and nothing more than that, why would anyone keep morons around themselves?” Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle loomed, the both of them looking very self-conscious when Malfoy talked about people who he deemed less intelligent than himself. 

Harry rolled his eyes in return, mimicking Malfoy’s expression. “Can you fill a 2000 word quota on why it’s a bad thing to be big and strong?” 

The blonde sighed in return, shrinking together. He had just lost every argument he had during the ride there, he was clearly about to lose this round too, and so he decided to just surrender before he was made to. “Fine, fine, but my father says he got expelled from Hogwarts once, which is why he is only the gamekeeper now.” At least that was an argument with a basis on something.

The group was being herded towards the castle, and the two of them continued to speak as they walked. It was surprisingly fun discussing with Malfoy, but it also made him ever so tired when the boy made up really weird arguments based on opinions. “Only a gamekeeper? With all the crazy, dangerous, magical things around here, I for one feel far safer with a strong half-giant protecting us against whatever is in the forest and the lake.” 

Malfoy opened his mouth to argue, but then slowly shut it again, realising that Harry was once again right. Behind them, Crabbe and Goyle agreed with Harry by letting out low grunts of approval. They too found it rather reassuring to be protected by someone as strong as Hagrid. Magic or no magic, there was no denying that a half-giant made for one good hindrance to overcome. 

As they were led towards the castle, Harry took the time to truly look up at Hogwarts. He had seen the castle in so many pictures, but to actually stand in front of its magnificence was something completely different. The many towers, the facade and way it rose up to meet the grey sky… It was breathtaking. Harry felt very small, but he also felt like he was standing before a magnificent beast, who graciously allowed him to be in its presence. 

He was so taken by the castle, which inside was all the more breathtaking, that he didn’t even notice that he group had been signaled to a halt. Instead he walked straight into that redheaded boy who he had met on the train. 

“OW!” The freckled boy with the red hair glared at him, and Harry quickly raised his hands in a surprised gesture which Weasley might have taken as mocking. 

“Sorry…” Harry quickly excused himself. 

The other boy looked like he was about to let him have a piece of his mind, but a woman’s voice rose above the crowd of eleven year olds, effectively quieting them down. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, Head of the Gryffindor House, and proceeded to inform the students about the sorting ceremony. She listed the four Houses and then excused herself as to go check if the ceremony was ready yet, thus leaving the children alone with nobody to watch over them. Of course, this led to them all breaking out into nervous chatter. 

Ron Weasley turned back to Harry, he still seemed angry. Harry didn’t know it at the time, but looking back at it, it was very clear that the redhead was nervous, and his fear took the form of aggression. “What’s your deal?” He huffed at Harry but before he could reply, Malfoy spoke up next to him. 

“Hah, let me guess… Red hair, hand me down clothes… You must be a Weasley.” The other boy’s expression turned sour when he looked upon the blonde. 

“So what? Blonde hair, a superiority complex, you must be Draco Malfoy.” The boy sneered back. 

“You really should choose your friends better, Lupin. Some are worthy to have, others not.” He looked demeaningly at Weasley, who looked back at him like he was a mosquito which he’d rather want to crush that look at for one more second. 

“Malfoy… you have been wrong about most of things you’ve said today.” Harry spoke up in a tired voice. “The rest have been dubious at best, besides, I am not sure if I’m comfortable with anyone deciding my friends for me.” He chuckled, accidentally catching Neville’s eyes. “The only friend I’ve made so far is Trevor.” 

Both boys looked at him, somehow, they both seemed equally disappointed that he hadn’t picked their side. Behind them, Crabbe and Goyle looked at one another. They both knew that Malfoy had been defeated time and time again in terms of arguments that day, and Harry’s logic streak seemed to be uninterrupted so far. They collectively decided that this wasn’t anything they were about to get involved in, and thus, they stayed on the sidelines behind Harry and Malfoy.

Before anything else could happen, Professor McGonagall returned and instructed them all to head into the Great Hall, it was time for the sorting event. Harry walked along with the crowd, but he still heard Malfoy whisper to his goons. 

“Who is Trevor?”

The Great Hall was beyond Harry’s wildest dreams. Above them, thousands of candles floated, softly moving up and down but staying in place, and above that was a wondrous night sky. Harry wasn’t certain if it was essentially a window out, or just a beatification of an outside sky, but it was breathtaking. He couldn’t imagine how beautiful it must be during starry nights, if it now was showing the outside. 

It took him a while to even notice the people. They were sitting by their tables, clad in the colors of their Houses, looking at the newly arrived first year students. Some looked at their group, others just continued talking, while others glared longingly at the empty plates of food. 

By the other end of the Great Hall sat the teachers. Harry eagerly looked to them, curious to see if he could recognise anyone. In particular, he tried to look for the only one teacher he had previous knowledge of aside from the Headmaster. However, he wasn’t that tall, and everything was moving, so he couldn’t get a clear view of the teachers' table. When he actually did get a few glimpses, it seemed the Potions Professor was absent from the gathering. Instead, Harry noticed what everyone else where looking at. Before said table stood a small stool, on top of which sat an old battered hat. Had he not actually known what the hat was, it would have been so very easy to dismiss it as a completely useless object. 

The first years gathered in front of the teachers and the hat. McGonagall picked up a pergament and after peering down at the list for a few seconds, she read the first name and the sorting began. Harry felt his heart beat quickly in his chest, and he tried to remember to breathe. He noticed that he had been stomping slightly in place, he only noticed when he lightly bumped into another one of the students. He mumbled an apology but the boy just shook his head with a smile and gave him a pat on the back. 

The list didn’t seem to be following any particular pattern of organisation. The Weasley boy was sorted before Harry, and he ended up in the Gryffindor House. He was welcomed by a bunch of other red haired people, who Harry assumed to be his family since they all looked fairly related. Malfoy was called up and he became a Slytherin almost before the hat touched his head. The girl with the bird’s nest of hair was sorted into Gryffindor, and Harry felt a tingle of anger when Weasley acted disappointed to have been forced into the same House as her. Neville, father of Trevor, was sorted into Gryffindor as well, after a long, embarrassing time under the hat. 

Then the professor called his name. “Harry Lupin Potter.” 

A buzz went through the entire hall. It felt as if a wind had blown through the room, originating from where Harry stood. His heart felt heavy, and the world was swimming before him. He knew that the second he moved, he would forever be labeled Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. Never again could he choose to be whoever he wanted to be, for his schoolmates would more likely than not continuously force Potter upon him, even if they didn’t mean to do it. Suddenly, it was impossible to move. 

Next to him, the boy who he had bumped against noticed that he was hesitating. Gently, he put his hand on his back, slowly nodding to Harry as his name was called once more. Harry swallowed, nodded, and then took a step forward. He pretended that he couldn’t see all the people turning their heads or stretching their necks to see him. 

The hat was placed upon his head, and darkness enveloped him, saving him from all the staring gazes. 

_Hard being famous, isn’t it, Mr. Lupin?_ A soft voice spoke into his ear. No, not ear, into his head. 

Harry almost answered out loud but then came to the sudden understanding that the hat must be able to read his mind, so he simply answered within his head. “You are reading my mind? If so, how about I complain to you about how everyone expects me to be some really powerful wizard who put a stop to the darkest, most powerful wizard in the history of the Wizarding World?” There was no use to hide any of it to a sentient magical artifact which was currently inside his head.

_Indeed. A child of no significance, who survived by the sacrifice of his mother. He is remembered as a hero, while the true hero in this story is dead, buried and forgotten by the world._

Harry felt as if his mind had stopped. He had never heard anything about this version of the story. “My…. mother…” He wasn’t able to think of anything else. 

_I’ve been inside her head, I’ve seen her mind. I know how strong her capability of love is, how strong her conviction is. Of all the minds I’ve ever seen, I could tell. She was not the type of person who would just lay down and die when her child was in danger._

Harry didn’t notice when he started to cry, but he felt the sob rock his body. His dad had spoken with great love and respect about both his birth-parents, and he had spoken of how much they loved Harry. It made so much more sense that he had survived thanks to the power of someone else than that he was an insanely powerful latent baby wizard. He made up his mind to ask his dad about it the next time he had the chance. If any of this was true, then he wasn’t the boy who lived and somehow defeated a dark wizard. He-... it was a little to much to think about right then. 

Harry chuckled softly, feeling the hat’s fabric dry away his tears. “Wasn’t I supposed to be sorted into a House? I don’t think this is supposed to be a… reveal all my deepest concerns.” 

_You underestimate how disturbing it is for a person to have their core read and evaluated._

“When you say it like that… What was my dad like when he was my age?” 

_A werewolf. He was frightened by so very many things. He believed that he could never be loved. He saw the beast as a separate entity from him, and yet as his ever present tormentor. A fault of his own being. He had a weak heart and a strong mind. It pleases me greatly that he had the courage to allow himself a family in you, Harry._ The boy didn’t need to specify that he was talking about Remus, the hat knew. 

He grinned into the fabric of the old hat. “Thank you. Maybe I should be sorted into a House now? I feel bad for taking all your time.” 

_Regrettable. This is one of the more pleasant heads I’ve been in as of lately. You have been raised well. Do you have any preferences for what House you’d like to be in?_

“Is there actually a difference?” 

_No. But people seek union in whatever similarities they can pretend to find. It is essentially a measurement to ensure loyalty to the school and people around the person. Back in the day, it was a way for mages of all kinds of societal classes and standings to find associates without any real substance. Today, it’s but an old system, kept for the convenience of the school’s reputation. The system works thus: the teachers will harness the qualities they choose to see. Depending on what house I sort you into, they will look for certain qualities and cultivate them. Simple and convenient. There is no world in which there are only four moulds of personalities, and where a person only has two traits of personality._

“I guess my dad was right then, the system is just here thanks to tradition.” 

_If I was to suggest a House in which you could do great things in, it would be Slytherin. I have a feeling that you will do great things for that House in particular._

“I guess I will go there then. Thank you.” 

_Thank you for the interesting chat, Mr. Lupin._ “Slytherin!” The last word was shouted out over the hall, and the hat was taken off his head. Harry blinked at the lights, and then began making his way towards the Slytherin table and Draco Malfoy’s triumphant grin. 

“That took some time.” Malfoy grinned at him as he slid down opposite of him, and was eagerly patted on the back for having the wonderful latent power of being sorted like everyone else. “Were you crying? Your face is wet.” 

“It’s kinda hard to breathe in that hat, it’s probably sweat.” Harry shrugged. “It was clearly more certain of you than it was of me.” 

“Now then… Tell me the Slytherin house isn’t the greatest H-” 

The boy who had helped Harry calm down when he didn’t have the courage to step forward slid down next to Harry, grinning at him. “So we’re in the same House?” His voice was deep and dark, despite only being eleven. “I’m Blaise Zabini, nice to meet you. Do you prefer Lupin or Potter or both of them together?” 

“Just Lupin, please.” Harry and Zabini shook hands. “Thank you for earlier.” 

“As I was sayi-” Malfoy tried again but was interrupted by Crabbe who had just flopped down next to him after being sorted. 

“No problem.” Zabini grinned. “I know what it’s like to have people judge you for your surname and parents’ actions.” 

They were about to keep on talking to one another, but the sorting finished and it became time for Dumbledore to speak to the school. He welcomed all the students, new and old to Hogwarts, and continued to list a few rules which he found important enough to put extra emphasis on. Namely to not visit a certain floor, and to stay away from the Forbidden Forest. As he finished his speech, he clapped his hands, and the plates became filled with all kinds of food. Most first year students looked like their eyes were about to pop out of their heads with delight over the idea of eating whatever they wanted. The hall quickly became filled with noise and laughter, as people began speaking and eating in a merry manner. 

Malfoy tried to speak about Slytherin’s superiority a few more times during the evening, but most students were so busy getting to know one another that no one really had the time or energy to talk history and moral philosophy with him. Zabini and Lupin quickly became Blaise and Harry to one another, as they chatted away about anything and everything. 

The evening drew to a close, and a Slytherin Prefect was tasked with leading the first years to their respective common rooms. Harry was a little surprised to learn that their common room was in the dungeons, which was sort of the equivalent of a basement if one thought about it. Everything seemed rather dark and cold down there, but the common room was at least inviting and homely. In a sort of old stony mansion kind of way. At least it wasn’t cold, so that was already great. 

The male Slytherin students in their year were divided into two rooms. Harry was excited to learn that he had ended up in the same dorm as Blaise, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. They all found their respective luggage waiting for them by their beds. Crabbe complained about the smell coming from Blaise’s luggage, and the boy excused it with heated cheeks. The scent was by no means unpleasant, but it made itself known. Harry who had been sitting next to the scent for most of the evening had already gotten somewhat used to it, and found that he didn’t really mind. Malfoy already looked at home as he pulled his nighting gown out and began preparing for bed. Harry found himself wondering if the boy had seen the dormitories before, as he seemed a little too familiar with the place. 

Nonetheless, Harry fell asleep in his bed, stomach full of all kinds of food and his head swirling with excitement over his new friend and the possibilities of what the school had to offer him.


	4. Chapter 3 - In which Severus Snape meets his biggest fan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr… Potter?” Professor Snape suddenly spoke up, as if he woke from a sleep. 
> 
> “Lupin.” Harry corrected him automatically, as he had every other teacher who tried to claim that he should be fine with being addressed by a name he didn’t identify with. 
> 
> The Potions professor suddenly looked… even stranger. His expression turned into a complicated mix of emotions, whereas some of the more identifiable ones appeared to be confusion, surprise and something akin to bitterness. “Lupin? Remus Lupin?” 
> 
> Harry nodded eagerly. “Yes, sir, that is my dad."

Life at Hogwarts proved to be somewhat hard to adjust to, not only for Harry, but for many other students. Still, most other people didn’t have to deal with being Harry Potter. He found that people were staring at him more often than not, and even whispering about him. He had already found out that a rumor was circulating about him being an even more powerful Dark Wizard who had bested the previous Dark Lord with his talent for Dark Arts as a child, seeing he had been sorted into Slytherin. A child who couldn’t speak was meant to have defeated the Dark Lord. A child who didn’t even know magic or the world around him. 

Harry took solace in the Sorting Hat’s words, constantly reminding himself that he was alive thanks to no power of his own, but due to the power of his mother’s love. He carefully addressed the rumors when he was alone with his fellow Slytherins, causing Malfoy to go on a rant about the history of misguided ideas towards the Slytherin House in that they were claimed to all be talented Dark Wizards without any real evidence for it. He did admit that many so-called evil mages did come from the Slytherin House, but countered with that Merlin himself had been one also. Nobody called Merlin a Dark Wizard, he was simply too popular for that. For once, Malfoy actually seemed to know what he was talking about, and Harry found himself rather impressed by his history knowledge of the discrimination aimed towards Slytherin students. He did voice just how impressed he was with Malfoy for his genuine knowledge on the topic. It seemed to encourage the boy a lot in the face of his earlier defeats in matters of knowledge. 

Harry did notice that the Slytherin students had a habit of staying to the side and only with members of their own House, while the other Houses were rather friendly with one another. There seemed to be a stark line between his House and the others, and it was easy to see that Malfoy had a point in their House being frozen out. However, Harry also noticed that the Slytherin students acted like bullies in many instances. They tended to target students who were alone, or those of lesser magic talent. It was very embarrassing to see his fellow Slytherins act in that way. Still, Harry could tell that the reasons as for why they acted like bullies lay in insecurities and a will to try and fight back against a group of people who didn’t welcome them, especially after complaining about the behaviour towards Malfoy who in turn acted as if it was what the other Houses deserved for the treatment. Still, he couldn’t condone the type of behavior. As an eleven year old, there wasn’t much he could do to stop the older students, but he could influence the students around him to at least act better. 

Neville, father of Trevor, quickly proved to be a very easy target for bullying. He had apparently stated that his family had believed him to be a Squib for a long time due to his lacking magical abilities. The rumor had spread and many insecure Slytherins had already targeted him as an easy victim. By his side was Hermione Granger, who quickly proved to be one of the most skilled magic users in their year. She and Neville, father of Trevor, had become friends, and she did her best to protect him when she could. This did of course lead to a lot of teasing in turn for Neville being protected by the girl, and Harry noticed that the teasing effectively pulled the two of them apart, as Neville began to avoid her. 

A week after school had started, two new subjects were introduced to the first years' schedules: Potion Brewing and Herbology. Harry had some experience in both subjects due to his dad letting him help at home with such matters, but he was more experienced with the former than the latter. 

Herbology came first, and to everyone’s surprise, Neville, father of Trevor, who was actually named Neville Longbottom, was the most experienced in the subject. It was a simple, introductory class, but Neville was able to answer everything flawlessly, and earned a whole twenty points to his House. Nobody, except for Granger, had earned that many points in a single day before that point. Nobody had earned that many during a single class. 

After class, it was time for lunch and everyone left to get washed up while Neville stayed a little longer to study a few of the plants which bloomed in the greenhouse. Harry noticed and stayed behind as well, waiting until they were alone to approach Neville. He did so because he thought it might be easier to talk to the boy if they were alone, rather than approach him with a bunch of people around. 

He figured that it would be easier altogether to be alone, but judging by the frightened look on Neville’s face when he approached him and greeted him, he might have made a mistake. To the other boy, it looked like Harry had singled him out and attacked while he was alone. 

“Hello, Longbottom.” Harry spoke in a cheery voice, trying to make himself appear relaxed and non-threatening. 

The boy swallowed, looked around in the greenhouse and then stared at his own feet. “What do you want?” He sulkily responded to Harry’s greeting. 

“I just wanted to say that you were really impressive during this lesson, I had no idea about most of these things, but you are clearly well read on the subject. You were great.” He praised the other boy, his green eyes reflecting honesty as he spoke. 

Neville glanced at him, his ears having turned red. “...Is this a joke? Are you mocking me?” 

Harry blinked. “No, why would I mock you? You are clearly very skilled in Herbology.” 

“You’re a Slytherin… all you ever do is mock me… Besides, my entire House acts as if my sorting was a mistake, they all act like I’m not good enough to be there.” He sighed, avoiding Harry’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have asked to be something other than a Hufflepuff, clearly that is where I was supposed to be, rather than make an embarrassment to the Gryffindor House. Maybe I shouldn’t have come at all...” 

“Hey, don’t talk like that.” Harry placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “You earned more points today, in one class, than anyone else our year has. If what you are saying about your family thinking you were a squib is true, then that means you haven’t had any education at home whatsoever, right?” 

Neville shook his head to confirm that he was right. 

“No wonder you’re a little confused then. The fact that you are managing at all is proof that you will be fine.” His face turned a bit more serious as he continued. “I’m sorry to see that people are picking on you, that isn’t fair, and it isn’t alright. I’m not about to pick on you, and you clearly had a friend in Granger.”

The other boy looked ashamed when he mentioned Granger. “But she is… People talk about us and it makes me feel weird…” Harry knew a lot of them had called Granger Neville’s girlfriend, which evidently was making him very uncomfortable. It seemed pretty reasonable, Harry thought back about when Weasley and Malfoy had acted as if they could decide who was his friend and not, and he was fairly certain that he understood how uncomfortable it was when people claimed Neville to have relationships with people in ways he didn’t. He imagined it would become very uncomfortable around the people forced into the same relationship with him, if it had happened to him. Malfoy was already acting up over whenever Harry talked to people who weren’t in Slytherin or deemed good enough. Still, it wasn’t like they could stop people around them acting that way. 

The Slytherin shook his head. “People always talk. They will always talk, and if you let people talk you into believing things they want you to believe, when will they stop having power over you?” At that point, Harry was practically citing his father’s speeches as to why Harry shouldn’t believe in what other people said about him. 

The round faced boy blinked. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, returning to stare at his shoes in shame. “I’m not… You don’t know what it’s like.” He whimpered. 

Harry bent down, leading his head to the side as he peeked up at Neville so that his scar became visible. “No, I don’t know anything about that. I’m just the super powerful latent Dark Wizard who murdered the most powerful Dark Lord there has ever been by the age of one. I wouldn’t know what it would be like to have people talk about me.” 

Neville snorted in return, covering his mouth with his hand as he did. Harry chuckled and it caused Neville to chuckle as well. When they stopped laughing, Neville looked up at him, looking much happier than Harry had ever seen him. “Thanks… You’re not like other Slytherins.” 

The green eyed boy snorted. “Of course not. There aren’t just four personalities, not everyone in the same House has the same personality.”

“Most other Slytherins are mean though.” Neville countered.

“That’s funny, most Gryffindors are mean to me.” Harry responded, giving the other a slightly triumphant smile as realisation dawned on Neville. “I’m getting hungry, do you want to go get some lunch before Potions class?” 

“W-with you?” The round faced boy looked nervous. “I don’t know…” 

“It’s practice.” Harry grabbed Neville’s arm. He had been raised by his werewolf dad and found bodily contact to be completely natural, even needed, in cases where people were upset or sad. Neville seemed unused to the closeness, but Harry simply pulled him along. “If you can be seen with me, you can be seen with her too. After all, I’m not ashamed to be seen with you, so you have no reason to be ashamed to be seen with me.” 

It was all Neville could do to blush and come along. 

They walked together to the Great Hall, and Harry separated from the Gryffindor to go back to his own table. He could almost smell that Malfoy was about to have another emotionally driven complaint before he even sat down next to Blaise. Harry hurled a piece of chicken onto his plate and waited for the battle of wits versus anti-logic to begin.

“Lupin,” Malfoy began, using that familiar, snobbish voice which Harry had long since concluded to be an ambitious albeit failed attempt to sound like his father. “Why are you walking about hand in hand with Longbottom of all people?” He sounded like he was playing pretend family, where Harry was his naughty daughter who has stayed out for too long with a boy who father Draco disapproved of. 

“Fear not, Montague, I assure you that despite your rivalry with Juliet’s family, our interest in one another is purely platonic.” Harry did his best to mimic the speech style of the Muggle author Shakespeare, gesturing with his chicken as he spoke. Blaise snorted next to him, clearly understanding his references to Romeo and Juliet. 

To Harry’s surprise, Malfoy seemed to understand his reference as well, as he scoffed. “You don’t even sound like Shakespeare…” 

“I don’t?” He chuckled as he began eating his food. 

“No. You need more… thee and thou.” Malfoy pointed out, seemingly rather excited to know more about something than Harry did. 

“What does platonic mean?” Goyle asked, looking around at his fellow Slytherins with a confused look on his face, one which Crabbe shared. 

“It means a relationship where the people are only friends and nothing more.” Blaise explained helpfully. Both big boys nodded in understanding. 

“Either way, Romeo, what are you doing with Longbottom?” Malfoy managed to turn the conversation back to his preferred topic before anyone could ask why he was so knowledgeable about muggle literature. 

“He’s the owner of my best friend Trevor, so I try to get along with him.” Harry reached for his glass of water. 

Malfoy frowned. “Who is Trevor?” He asked with a demanding tone. 

“Seeing as Longbottom is the owner,” Crabbe suddenly spoke up. “I think it’s what Trevor is, rather than who.” 

Malfoy glared at him like he had just committed treason. “Who asked you?” He snorted out. 

“He has a point though.” Goyle nodded. 

“Who asked any of you?!” Malfoy’s face turned into a displeased pout as he looked between his lackeys. 

“Both of them are right though.” The green eyed boy responded through mouthfuls of his lunch. 

“Technically, you asked everyone if they knew who Trevor was.” Blaise rested his head in his hand, smiling softly at Malfoy. Despite just being eleven, Blaise had one of those smiles which was hard to not adore. 

The blonde boy huffed, seeing the fact that his anti-logic had been defeated yet again. “When is the next class?” He switched subjects once again to avoid embarrassing himself further. 

The Potions class was held in the dungeons. Harry and his fellow Slytherin students had walked past the classroom a few times, but this was their first time actually being inside of it. It was like most parts of the dungeons, the colors were dark and there was a slightly strange scent in the room. However enclosed it was, it wasn’t cold, which was always a positive aspect, according to Harry. 

He was sitting next to Blaise and Malfoy, as the latter was talking about Quidditch and how he’d want to join the team but that first years weren’t allowed to. Harry was attentively looking around for their teacher, who he knew by the name of Professor Severus Snape. He had never before met the man, but he was incredibly excited to finally have the chance to. He had heard a lot about the man from his dad, and he couldn’t wait to meet him in person. That did of course not count for seeing the man in the Great Hall, from a distance. 

The doors open and Professor Snape himself swept into the room, dressed in all dark robes. He continued to sweep onto his podium and introduce his subject by rejecting the idea of spell-casting altogether, which seemed a bit excessive really. He continued to call Potions a subtle art and science, and Harry found himself nodding along, despite Snape’s claim that not many students would find enjoyment in the subject. After that, he continued to make an actually good argument as to what could be done with Potions, and how very common they were in the everyday life of mages. 

For some reason, he ended his speech by locking eyes with Harry. Harry felt his heart skip a beat with excitement and for a second, the two of them stared at one another. The Professor on the other hand had a very strange expression on his face, one which was very hard to read. 

“Mr… Potter?” Professor Snape suddenly spoke up, as if he woke from a sleep. 

“Lupin.” Harry corrected him automatically, as he had every other teacher who tried to claim that he should be fine with being addressed by a name he didn’t identify with. 

The Potions professor suddenly looked… even stranger. His expression turned into a complicated mix of emotions, whereas some of the more identifiable ones appeared to be confusion, surprise and something akin to bitterness. “Lupin? Remus Lupin?” 

Harry nodded eagerly. “Yes, sir, that is my dad. He has spoken very highly of you, especially the Potions part of your academic career.” The green eyed boy had heard his dad speak about Severus Snape with fondness throughout his life. The professor in front of him was the creator of the Lycanthropy potion which his father took every month and which had made it possible for him to raise Harry. Needless to say, Remus found the potion to be the reason as to why he was able to become Harry’s dad in the first place. “We use many of your potions at least once a month, as I am sure the majority of all students here do.” He was trying very hard to not make any hints in regards to Lycanthropy, and hoped that Snape would simply take it as a normal occurrence to see his potions used by people. 

Professor Snape stared at Harry like he had grown another head, until he slowly opened his mouth. “Since you know so much about matters, tell me, Mr. Potter, what do I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” 

Silence lowered itself over the classroom, as the professor stared at Harry, in turn Harry turned to look around in the room. The silence lingered until Snape had enough and more or less barked out “five points from Slytherin. Why are you not answering, Mr. Potter?” 

Harry suddenly looked sad, curling together slightly in his seat. He looked a lot like an ashamed dog. “I’m sorry, Professor. My name is Lupin, I didn’t realise that you wanted me to answer.” 

Snape stared at him, then scoffed and turned from him. He continued to order the class to open their textbooks and the lesson began. Harry got the feeling that the man was mad at him for not having responded to the name he used for him, but he was also not willing to give up on his name for the sake of a person he didn’t know. He might be a great fan of the man’s work, but that didn’t mean that he was comfortable accepting a label from him which he wouldn’t allow anyone else to push onto him. 

“I don’t know, Blaise… I just feel like he got so mad at me for correcting him.” Harry hugged his books to his chest as they left the Potion class. “But if I let someone call my by that name just because I happen to have respect for them, then I will be inviting all sorts of people to disrespect me in favor of their own convenience.” 

“Yeah. The list should say both your names, as it has on everything else. He’s the only one who has called you just Potter instead of Lupin Potter, like most other teachers did. It’s actually kinda weird when you think about it.” Blaise nodded, supporting Harry by affirming what they both know to be the truth. “I don’t even think he looked at his class list.” 

“You didn’t really need to lose us a lot of points for it though…” Malfoy sighed next to Harry. “I didn’t think he’d be that quick to take points away from his own House.” 

“Sorry.” Harry sighed, staring out into space still. 

His fellow Slytherin students all looked at one another, and then everyone’s eyes turned to Malfoy. Even he seemed to realise that he had overstepped his boundaries and attacked Harry when he was already down. He quickly cleared his throat and waved his hands as if he could magically make his own words disappear. “It’s just House points, and just five of them. We can still make up for it, the year has just begun.” 

Blaise rolled his eyes. “Because this is about the pride of Slytherin?” He questioned, his dark voice seemingly piercing through Malfoy as he winched in return. “No, I… Uhn… Fine. Snape was wrong to do that, and Lupin was right in correcting him. It shouldn’t actually have made him that mad.” Malfoy sheepishly corrected himself, but it was clear that he actually did feel sorry about making Harry feel bad. 

“And?” Crabbe continued, still looking down at Malfoy. 

“And I’m sorry for blaming you for those lost points. Your state of mind is more important than a couple of points.” The blonde boy continued, glaring down at the floor with red cheeks. 

“Thanks, Malfoy.” Harry slowly smiled and then moved to lock his arm with the other boy’s, holding on to him. So far, Blaise had been the primary target for Harry to cuddle up to when he needed support, thus, Malfoy was not entirely ready to be accepted as an object of support. 

“H-hey, I… Ugh… Whatever. You’re like our dogs at home.” The blonde surrendered to being Harry’s arm support. 

“Am I now?” Harry chuckled in response, already feeling better from just touching someone instead of suffering alone without any physical reminder than he wasn’t alone. 

“What class is next?” Blaise asked Goyle, who pulled out a schedule from within his robes. 

“...Defense against the Dark Arts…” Goyle read slowly. 

“What part of the castle is that in again?” Blaise sighed. 

“...Up?” Crabbe suggested in a helpful manner. 

“I mean… probably?” Harry agreed. 

“You’re all hopeless…” Malfoy sighed. “You’d never find your way anywhere without me.”


	5. Chapter 4 - In which Ron Weasley is challenged to a duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With his heart in his throat and his body shaking, he slowly lowered himself down on the ground. As his feet touched the ground, he sank together, hugging the ball to his chest as he began hyperventilating from the adrenaline rush. 
> 
> Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle came running first, followed by the entirety of the first year Slytherin students. Malfoy followed his House, Harry couldn’t see his face, but if he had been able to, he would have seen that the boy looked more than a little worried and guilty.
> 
> “Bloody Merlin! Did he catch it?” Theodore Nott’s voice squeaked above the rest. 
> 
> “Who cares! Harry, are you alright?” Blaise was the first one by his side. 

“I thought the Defense against the Dark Arts classes were supposed to have… More defensive magic teaching.” Harry sighed, rolling his shoulders as to ease the stiffness which had been building up in them during the long, drawn out lesson. “For some reason, that classroom always makes my head hurt… does anyone else feel it?” He absently rubbed his forehead, sighing once more. 

“He really just goes on and on…” Blaise agreed. “It’s only been… three weeks and I’m pretty sure that we’ve heard the story about the vampire at least twice now.” In response to Harry a grin spread over Blaise’s lips, “maybe you’re allergic to the garlic he has put up everywhere around himself?” Harry only dignified such a response with an eye roll. 

“Maybe we’re meant to learn that the true enemy of a young mind is boredom?” Harry laughed, quoting something he had heard his dad say once. 

“Sure, that’s the real Darkest of Arts right there.” Blaise shook his head, but he was smiling nonetheless. 

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Harry turned towards the other boy like a bird who had just spotted their prey. “Did you finish your Daily Prophet yet? You said I could have it when you were done, I really want to read about that break in at the Gringotts’ bank. That seems like the most impossible thing, I need to know more about it.” 

His friend laughed. “You’re so serious about the news, why don’t you get your own subscription?” Blaise dug around in his bag before he handed Harry the paper. 

“I’m not serious about it, it’s just this one article that has me curious to bits. It’s almost like if the news would claim that someone had broken out of Azkaban. It’s just so unthinkable that I can stop thinking about it.” He excitedly accepted the newspaper and looked down upon the photograph of the bank which was printed on the first page. As he skimmed through the headline, he noticed that the attempted break-in had happened on his birthday. That was rather curious. 

“I don’t wanna…” Crabbe’s voice met them as they turned around the corner. Crabbe was looking out of the window, down at the courtyard. Harry and Blaise joined him in looking down, spotting the preparations for their next lesson in basic broom handling and flying. “I like the earth better than the air.” He concluded. 

“Don’t whine about it.” Malfoy sighed, placing his hands on his hips. “I for one plan on becoming a Seeker next year when I am allowed to play for the team. I’m more than secure in the air, and if I had my own broom here, I would fly circles around you to show that there is nothing to be scared over.” 

“I hope he falls off the broom and hits himself in the head.” Ron Weasley’s sour voice reached them. The boy clearly hadn’t been careful enough in his mutterings as to not be heard by Malfoy as he talked to his fellow Gryffindors. 

Malfoy spun around and glared at Weasley. “Have you ever had your own broom, Weasley? Or is it a hand me down from your great grandparents?” 

The redhead’s already sour expression turned even more sultry. “Have you ever had anything for more than two days before you grew tired of it and had your dad buy you something else to ignore?” 

“I’ll not tolerate you speaking about my father with that tone you good for nothing excuse of a wizard.” Malfoy hissed now, it was very clear that the two of them knew exactly what to say to hurt one another. They looked like they were about to duel each other there and then and Harry found no other option than to step between them. 

“Malfoy,” Harry carefully grabbed his arm, causing the blonde to spin around towards him with fire in his eyes. “You’re better than this shouting match, come on now.” 

“You hear this… scum of a wizard insult me and my father, I will not just take it like an abused dog!” Malfoy more or less barked at Harry. 

“You’re not. Both of you are acting very immaturely. Would your father really want you to draw your wand at someone because you ran out of arguments, Malfoy? You know that Weasley is wrong about you, don’t let him provoke you like this.” Harry carefully pulled on his arm again, and Malfoy finally gave in and relaxed. “And you Weasley, you shouldn’t say those things about his family. In fact, none of you should be insulting the other’s family, you sound like children bickering.” 

Weasley looked at him, with such a dark hatred that Harry felt the ground under his feet sway. “What do you know about family? You don’t have one.” 

Harry’s mind stopped, he felt like he was being pulled back inside his head, witnessing the scene from the back of a crowded theater. He could hear Malfoy bark something at Weasley, while Blaise tried to hold him back. Crabbe and Goyle had stepped forward to threaten but they didn’t seem entirely sure what to do other than that. Behind Weasley, some Gryffindor students tried to pull him back. It felt like everything was happening so fast around him, while he stood still and let it happen. _The Daily Prophet_ fell out of his hand and Harry didn’t even notice. 

When he finally came back to awareness, Malfoy had challenged Weasley to a duel, and they were barking insults at one another. The ruckus caused by their yelling called Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, to nervously try and separate the first year students and send them in different directions. 

“Mr. L-l-lupin?” Stuttered the man, trying to fulfill his teacher duties and failing miserably in being a comfort. “Are you q-q-quite alright? S-s-should you maybe go to -t-t-the infirmary? I w-will accompany y-you.” 

“Thank you Professor, we will take care of him.” Blaise put a hand on Harry’s back, and carefully began leading him away from the scene. 

Malfoy was practically fuming but trying his hardest to not show it, the reaction was most likely an effect from the way he had been raised. “That insolent little…! Lupin, don’t listen to him, his family is one of those rodent type ones which just cannot stop breeding even though they already have far more children than they can handle. He thinks he is so special for-” 

“Malfoy, please…” Blaise sighed, supporting Harry still. “He won’t feel any better by you trying to insult Weasley. Harry if anyone wouldn’t think of that as a good thing no matter what.” 

“But-!” A stare from Blaise shut him up, but he continued to mutter under his breath.

“I’m…” Harry found his voice again, somehow forcing his tongue and lips to shape words instead of silence. “I wasn’t… prepared for that, s-sorry.” He avoided looking at the other people present. “It’s not that I believe him, I know that I do have a dad, and I know that we love each other, but that was just so… so cruel.” 

“Don’t listen to him, Lupin.” Crabbe reached out to pet his hand with his big hand. 

“Yeah, don’t.” Goyle added a confused pat as well. 

“Definitely don’t listen to him!” Malfoy added, still somewhat fuming. “I have someplace to be before the next lesson, Crabbe, Goyle, come with me. We’ll meet up with you at the courtyard in a bit.” He nodded to Blaise and hurried off. 

“I sorta… Feel like I’m overreacting.” Harry told Blaise as they walked to the courtyard for some fresh air which Blaise hoped would calm him down before the next lesson. “I know what he said isn’t true, I’m not listening to it, and still… My legs are all weird.” 

“It’s fine, Harry. That kind of thing would hurt anyone, even if they know it isn’t true.” Blaise helped him sit down on a bench. They were able to see most of the courtyard from there, and could thus see when it was time to join the class. 

“Do we have flying with the Gryffindors?” The green eyed boy whispered. 

“Yeah, but not for very long. If you just focus on yours, you don’t have to interact with Weasley.” His friend reassured Harry, who sighed at the answer. 

“I’ll do my best. Are you sure that I’m not bothering you when I’m like this?” He carefully glanced up at Blaise and then down at the ground, suddenly very scared to face his friend. 

“It’s fine.” The boy with the dark voice slid closer, offering Harry his shoulder to lean against and an arm to cling to. Harry accepted both, closing his eyes as the familiar scent of Blaise’s strong perfume filled his nose. “We’re friends, supporting one another is what friends do.”

“Thanks.” Harry cuddled against his shoulder, breathing deeply to calm himself down again. Blaise perfume almost made him cough. 

Blaise pet his head. “Malfoy is right, you really do act like a dog sometimes.” 

Harry simply giggled in response. 

What had happened between the Gryffindor first years and the Slytherin first years had somehow spread to the entirety of the students who were present at the lesson that day. There was an animosity between the groups which was so present that Harry felt like it could have been cut with a knife. He hated to think that he was the reason for the tension, but he couldn’t quite do anything about Malfoy and Weasley glaring at one another. 

Madame Hooch blew her whistle and tried to steer the class into their positions next to their brooms. Neville, father of Trevor, was especially nervous and upon getting up on his broom. Thus, he quickly lost control over it and accidentally moved upwards instead of remaining on the ground. A buzz went through the crowd, most Gryffindor students looked worried, but some looked tired, almost expectant. Looking upon their reactions, it seemed like a collection of the students had expected Neville to mess things up, just like Neville had said. It was far from all of them, but a few really did seem to have waited for their classmate to make another embarrassing mistake.

A few of the Slytherin students began to snicker between themselves, as if the scenario was funny to them. Next to him, Malfoy looked highly amused, but Crabbe looked like he had significantly lowered his center of gravity as he watched Neville with fearful eyes. The further attention from the students, both worried and mocking, caused Neville even more distress and he flew even higher. He was clearly unable to calm down and try to get the broom to land, and with his consistently rising stress, so rose he. 

Madame Hooch tried to make him come back down, but Neville was far too stressed at this point. It was clear that his hands were sweating and in the end that sweat was probably the main reason as to why he fell off the broom and crash landed onto the ground. The students gasped as one, and Granger closed her eyes as to not see what was happening, while Malfoy followed Neville’s fall with something akin to hunger in his eyes. 

There was a loud crack as he hit the ground, and Madame Hooch quickly ran up to her student to assess the situation. Neville’s arm or wrist had been broken in the crash and he was swiftly taken away by Madame Hooch to the infirmary. 

The last thing the Slytherins and the Gryffindors needed was to be alone with one another without a teacher at that moment. 

Malfoy walked over to the place where Neville had fallen, and picked up something from the ground. It was a little round object with pale gas inside of it. “He dropped this thing, what a klutz.” He threw the object into the air and caught it again, casually holding his training broom in one hand still. 

“Give it here, Malfoy.” Weasley growled, holding out his hand for the ball which Harry now recognised as a Remembrall. 

“Come get it, Weasley.” Malfoy jumped onto his broom, and sailed off with an elegance which could only come from an experienced flier. It seemed he really did have a broom at home with which he has practiced. Malfoy held the Remembrall up, shaking it. Next to Harry, Blaise shook his head disapprovingly over their classmate’s behavior. 

Weasley looked like he was about to fly after him, so Harry hurried to step between them again, trying to keep the two Houses from getting any more reasons to feud with one another. 

“Malfoy? I think that’s far enough, that belongs to Longbottom, give it to Granger and she can return it to him.” He avoided mentioning Weasley, who he was highly uncomfortable turning his back to. 

Harry wished that Malfoy had been raised differently, for when he saw the dark gaze of his friend switch from Weasley to himself, he knew that Malfoy was about to do something stupid. “Fine… I’ll give it back.” 

Harry knew instinctively that he wasn’t about to give the Remembrall back. 

Malfoy pulled his arm back and threw the ball with all his might towards the castle. Before Harry realised what was happening, he was already flying, chasing after the ball at a speed which was frankly more than careless. He had ridden a broom before, this wasn’t his first time upon one, but it was the first time going at this speed. Harry stretched out his hand, chasing the ball with his eyes, and felt his fingers close around it. He quickly turned the broom around and managed to stop himself from crashing into the wall. It all happened so fast, it was almost as if his brain didn’t have time to react to it all as he looked down upon the Remembrall. The smoke inside the ball quickly turned red in his hand as he stared at it.

With his heart in his throat and his body shaking, he slowly lowered himself down on the ground. As his feet touched the ground, he sank together, hugging the ball to his chest as he began hyperventilating from the adrenaline rush. 

Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle came running first, followed by the entirety of the first year Slytherin students. Malfoy followed his House, Harry couldn’t see his face, but if he had been able to, he would have seen that the boy looked more than a little worried and guilty.

“Bloody Merlin! Did he catch it?” Theodore Nott’s voice squeaked above the rest. 

“Who cares! Harry, are you alright?” Blaise was the first one by his side. 

“He’s hyperventilating, everyone step back and give him some space.” Hermione Granger’s voice was suddenly there, as was the girl who the voice belonged to, standing right in front of the green clad Slytherin students. They obeyed her order, despite her not being from their House. 

“Just breathe, Harry, you’re safe now.” Blaise carefully patted his back, staying to the side as to not crowd him. 

“Mr. Lupin!” An adult’s voice was suddenly heard amidst the clambering of the children’s voices, and the students parted to give way to Professor McGonagall. Harry winced at the sound of his name, and the Professor realised that the boy was deeply shaken. Her features seemed to soften slightly and she bent down to help Harry onto his feet. 

As he was led away from the group of students, Madame Hooch returned. She looked at Harry and then back at her fellow teacher, her mouth becoming a thin, displeased line.

“And what exactly did I miss?” She barked an order at McGonagall, who only shook her head in return. 

“I will tell you later. For now, I shall get Mr. Lupin to the infirmary and have him drink something calming.” She pushed for Harry to continue walking, and he allowed himself to be led away. 

Harry felt like he understood his dad a lot better after that moment on the broom, when he realised that he could have crashed himself into the castle wall and broken his neck. The world was suddenly too loud and too bright. Every voice seemed far too loud and he wanted to just cover his ears and curl together to protect himself from it all. Still, the nurse was gentle, and she carefully replaced the Remembrall in his hands with a warm cup of cocoa. As he began drinking it, it reminded him of his dad, who loved chocolate and often used it as a method for calming Harry’s fears down. The sweetness and the taste seemed to touch something deep within him, and he began calming down. 

The world became less bright and less loud, and Harry found himself in a white infirmary. Professor McGonagall was still there, waiting alongside Madam Pomfrey. The two women looked at one another, and the Professor carefully addressed him. 

“Mr. Lupin. The way you flew out there, why I have never… I think that you have high potential as a Seeker. I will talk to Professor Snape, we will see if the rules allow-” 

“Rules?” Harry interrupted her, staring at her like she had completely lost her mind. It was a very rude way to look at someone, but Harry felt like he was more than entitled to it, judging by what she was saying. “I am never riding a broom that recklessly ever again. I have no interest in Quidditch and I am most certainly not interested in becoming a Seeker!” He shook his head violently, almost spilling the cocoa over himself. 

She frowned. “But Mr. Lupin, this type of talent is very rare, if you do not hone it, it will go to waste.” She didn’t mean to be pushy, but in her own excitement, McGonagall failed to realise that she was trying to force her own interests onto an unwilling participant. 

Harry shook his head again. “Let it be wasted. That was horrifying… I’m never getting on a broom again.” 

Madam Pomfrey stopped the other woman from answering Harry, and instead ushered her out the door so as to not have her stress the young Slytherin up further. She told Harry to drink his cocoa and then return to class when he had stopped trembling. He nodded in return and crawled up further on the bed, continuing to sip the hot drink while thinking of home. 

There was a noise from the improvised booth next to him, and to his great surprise, Neville, father of Trevor, emerged. He looked as sheepishly uncertain as always, avoiding to look directly at Harry. As Neville searched for something to say, the green eyed boy picked up his Remembrall and held it out to him. 

“My ball!” Neville’s red face lit up and he happily came over to sit next to Harry on his bed. “I didn’t know I had dropped it.” 

“Malfoy found it.” Harry smiled at him, avoiding looking him in the eyes as he did. “He asked me to give it back to you.” 

“Malfoy did?” Neville accepted the ball, looking down at it with a skeptical look on his face. 

“...Not really, but at least it’s back now.” Harry shrugged and sipped some more of his cocoa. “I’m not going to apologise for someone else, but I’m sorry that you fell, will you be alright?” 

Neville nodded. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore, apparently I will be fine by the end of the day and then I can leave for the dormitories. Did they give you cocoa?” He finished with a longing sigh. 

“I’ll let you have some when there is little enough that you aren’t spilling on yourself, seeing as you only have one arm.” Harry promised, smiling at the other boy. His smile didn’t last for very long, as he had a realisation about something he wanted to ask Neville. “Can I… I have a question for you, if you don’t mind?”

The other boy looked up at him, blinking with confusion as he glanced over the other’s face. “If… you have to?” His answer sounded very uncertain. 

“...Do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?” Harry asked in a small voice, trying to stop any curious listeners from following their conversation.

“Yes… I do.” Neville slowly admitted. 

“My dad has always told me about the bravery of the people in that Order.” Harry began. “I know that it must be really strange to have a stranger say this, but I know what happened to your parents, and despite what anyone else thinks, I think they would be proud of you.” 

Like a small animal who just found itself in front of a predator, Neville stared at him with big, frightened eyes. He seemed to be searching for something to say, but no matter how many times he opened his mouth, no sound escaped his lips. 

Harry continued in a careful, small voice. “I’ve been admiring the people from the Order for a long time, and I lost my birth parents to Them as well.” He didn’t need to say the name of the followers, Neville knew without him having to spell it out. “I know that-”

Neville cut him off, forcefully. “You don’t know anything about them! You don’t know what it’s like!” He clearly didn’t mean to scream, but when he stared at Harry, Harry noticed that the boy’s eyes were filled with tears. The smoke inside his Remembrall in his hands had turned a silver hue, signalling to Harry that Neville remembered everything about this topic far too well. 

“I know that they fought for the right to have everyone attend Hogwarts safety. I know that they fought for your right to be here, even if others claim your magical talents aren’t enough.” Harry had already done away with a lot of stress that day, he was not as bothered by Neville’s anger as he might otherwise have been. It was a little stressful, but he couldn’t quite bother to react strongly, even as his gut filled with an uncomfortable fear of having messed up. 

The other boy bit his lower lip, as big tears rolled down his cheeks. He hiccuped, and then hid his face with his forearm. It seemed that he had really needed to hear that someone believed in him, and even if his parents could no longer tell it to him themselves, it seemed that Neville believed Harry’s words to be true. 

When Neville calmed down enough to talk again, the two of them continued to chat with one another. They talked about their current families, and about Herbology, since it was Neville’s passion and Harry enjoyed listening to the boy speak about something he clearly enjoyed so much. By the time Harry was allowed to leave the infirmary, the two had become pretty good friends. Harry promised him to be his lab partner next Potions class, as Snape apparently terrified Neville. 

They waved goodbye to one another, and Harry hurried to dinner, hoping he would at least catch some food before it was changed to dessert.


	6. Chapter 5 - In which Neville Longbottom takes a nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry stood up and walked over to his friends, forgetting the book somewhere by the sofa. “Wait, you challenged Weasley to a duel?” 
> 
> Malfoy looked up at him, for a second, he looked surprised and a little guilty. Then the second past and he was back to his usual composed, slightly demeaning self. “I was never going to waste my time dueling him, this way, nobody gets hurt and Weasley will be punished for the way he acted towards you.” 

Harry joined his fellow Slytherins for dinner, he was sadly too late for food but in time for dessert. Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle looked happy when he came to sit with them, but Malfoy stubbornly avoided his eyes. Harry reached for the first thing he saw with chocolate, and pulled his hand back holding a muffin with chocolate filling. As he bit into it, it tasted as if it was newly made and he had just grabbed it from the oven pan. The rich taste of chocolate filled his mouth, and it must have looked like he enjoyed it immensely for Crabbe and Goyle both reached for the same type of muffin right away. 

“How are you feeling?” Blaise pushed his plate towards Harry, who realised that his friend had filled it with food as he suspected that Harry might be too late for the main course. If Blaise had been on the same side of the table as him, Harry would have hugged him half to death. 

“Thank you, hungry.” Harry responded, the very opposite of eloquence as he began eating as if he had never seen food before.

Blaise glanced over at Malfoy, who hurriedly stood up. “I’m going to the common room, Crabbe, Goyle, are you done or am I going alone?” As was in tune with his normal speech pattern, Malfoy didn’t really ask things as much as he demanded them. 

“Coming.” The two of them pulled themselves out of their seats. Crabbe gave Harry a light pat on the back before he trailed after Malfoy, who strode from the Great Hall in what seemed to be a valiant attempt to out-drama Snape’s walking style. 

Blaise and Harry returned to their focus to the table, and Harry devoured a piece of broccoli. The other boy watched him eat in that passive, observant way of his, head resting in his own hand. The green eyed boy knew his friend well enough to know that the other was thinking about something, so he halted his eating to ask if there was something Blaise wanted to talk about. 

“I overheard Professor McGonagall speak to Professor Snape earlier, it seems as if she is very insistent in having him request that you join the Slytherin Quidditch team.” Blaise glanced towards the teachers’ table as he spoke, looking unimpressed. 

Harry nearly choked on his broccoli. “I am not!” He got a few looks from having shouted, and quickly quieted down. “I never want to get on a broom again. Besides, there is a reason that first years don’t get to have their own brooms, or join the Quidditch team. I could have crashed into that wall and broken my neck, besid-” 

Harry was interrupted by a voice which came from behind him. He knew who it was before turning around to look at the man. “Y-y-you almost got yourself k-k-killed, Mr. Lupin?” Professor Quirrell was standing behind him, twisting his hands in front of himself with a pale look on his face. His eyes flicked over Harry’s face, consistently ending up focusing on his forehead before they moved on. “What h-h-happened?” 

“I rode my broom very recklessly, Professor. I wasn’t hurt, but I was shocked by the event, according to Madam Pomfrey. I’m fine now though.” Harry explained in a quick manner. 

The man stared at him, a little too long to be comfortable, before speaking. “G-g-good! Having children die at t-t-the school… We can’t have th-that… Poor, poor children…” He lift a gloved hand and lightly patted Harry on the head before wandering off, mumbling to himself. 

Harry’s forehead stung as he was touched by the man’s hand, and he lift his hand up to absently rub over his scar. “I wonder if he is always static due to that turban or something…” The green eyed boy wondered out loud. “I got a shock when he touched me.” 

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Blaise sighed. “Now eat your food, I want to get back to the common room before curfew, please.” 

They returned to the Slytherin common room well in time before the curfew, and found Malfoy trying to teach Goyle how to play Wizard Chess. The latter looked miserable, and Malfoy quickly requested that Blaise trade places with him as to give him a real challenge. Harry noticed that the blonde boy was avoiding to look at him, and it took him a few seconds to remember that it was Malfoy who had thrown the Remembrall and thus gotten Harry sent to the infirmary in the first place. Was the other avoiding him because Harry had interrupted his plans? He felt a tingle of guilt boil in his chest before he was able to remind himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong in trying to not divide the two Houses further. 

“Hey, Lupin.” When Harry turned towards the voice, he noticed that he had been approached by the big Slytherin Quidditch team captain, Flint. Up close, the large teenager seemed gigantic, and Harry couldn’t help but take a step back as to not seem like he was challenging the cruel looking young man’s authority. 

“Y-yes?” His answer was more of a squeak than a response. 

“I heard you are one Boggart of a Seeker, the trials are this weekend, I’ll be seeing you there.” The Slytherin captain put a heavy hand on his shoulder and stared into his eyes, as if he could make Harry not disappoint him if he glared hard enough. He didn’t even give the first year student a chance to reply before he turned away and strode off back to his friends. 

“...I don’t…” Harry responded into thin air. Somewhere behind him, Malfoy won over Blaise in Wizard Chess, while Crabbe and Goyle had taken up positions behind Malfoy, trying to follow the game. Nobody had noticed Flint talking to him, and Harry figured that might be for the better. 

Harry let out a shaky breath and then walked back to his dorm to get a book. He claimed a nice spot by the fire in the common room and turned his back to his friends as they continued to play Wizard Chess. He smiled to himself, feeling very homely with a warm fireplace to read by. He opened his borrowed copy of _Wanderings with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockhart. 

So...that book was absolutely worthless. Harry put the book down with a disgusted face before he was even halfway through, almost considering throwing it into the fire. However, he had borrowed it from the library and no matter how badly he wanted to save everyone from ever reading this worthless piece of pseudo literature, he didn’t want his dad to be bothered by the fee for the book. Across from him, Theodore Nott was sitting and reading a book of his own, his book was title _Magic and Muggles, when magical science mix_. Harry couldn’t make out the name of the author. 

Nott noticed him looking, and glanced down at the book which Harry disgustedly held away from himself. He nodded with a look of understanding on his face. 

“Wanna switch?” Harry half joked, closing the useless book once and for all. 

“No way. I tried reading one of that author’s books before, couldn’t make it through the biography introduction part without feeling like I wanted to hurl.” Nott made a disgusted face, rolling his eyes. 

“He just claimed that there is a magical spell which turns werewolves back into their human form. And that it isn’t even that hard to cast, or something.” Harry looked at the book with a look of disgust which matched Nott’s. 

“As if.” The other boy agreed. “He also keeps on going on and on about how the spells he casts aren’t that hard, and then says that they are hard, only to come back to claim that he just is that talented.” 

Harry groaned in response. 

Behind them, Crabbe’s dark voice spoke up. “Hey, Malfoy? You are going to be late to that duel with Weasley if you don’t leave now. The trophy room is kind of far away.” 

Harry looked behind himself to see his blonde classmate smirk as he glanced at the time. “Yeah, I wonder if Weasley has already been caught for breaking curfew.” 

Goyle blinked. “But then he can’t duel you…” 

“That’s the point, you idi… uh, that’s the point. We went to Filch to tell him that we were certain that some students would try and stay out past curfew so that he would be able to capture Weasley and punish him. Weasley will lose face, House Points, and we will be all safe here in our common room. Weasley will only have himself to blame, if we are lucky, he might even be expelled.” 

Harry stood up and walked over to his friends, forgetting the book somewhere by the sofa. “Wait, you challenged Weasley to a duel?” 

Malfoy looked up at him, for a second, he looked surprised and a little guilty. Then the second past and he was back to his usual composed, slightly demeaning self. “I was never going to waste my time dueling him, this way, nobody gets hurt and Weasley will be punished for the way he acted towards you.” 

“He doesn’t deserve to be expelled just because he said something hurtful!” Harry objected. “Tricking him like this will only make things worse between you, as he isn’t likely to be calm and peaceful after this…” Harry’s eyes moved towards the door to the Slytherin common room, feeling his heart race in his chest. “Duels solve nothing.”

“Aren’t you listening, I’m not going to duel him. This is all his own doing for being stupid enough to think that I would ever break the curfew for the sake of defeating him in a duel. I could easily defeat him though, but I don’t even have to, since he is this stupid.” Malfoy spoke the last words to Crabbe and Goyle, who nodded with confused expressions on their faces. 

“I’m going to go call the duel off.” Before he really had the time to think it over, Harry hurried towards the door. He simply couldn’t just sit and wait while Weasley was tricked into trouble, even if Malfoy was doing it for the sake of Harry’s honor. He didn’t want anyone to be hurt for the sake of his own comfort, and it didn’t make him happy in the least to have Weasley insulted or hurt because Weasley had hurt him first. Somewhere behind him, Blaise tried to stop him by calling after him, but Harry was already running. 

He did know where the trophy room was, and he was rather certain that he could find his way there. When he came to the stairs which lead out of the dungeons, he slowed his steps and began moving more carefully. He glanced around the corners, listened for footsteps or other noise. By some miracle or another blessing, Harry managed to get to the trophy room without anyone catching him out of bed after curfew. 

To his great relief, he found Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville, father of Trevor, nervously wandering around outside of the room. Neville spotted him first, and a look of relief washed over his face. 

“Harry..!” He whispered and made to come towards him, but Weasley pulled his wand out and pointed it at the Slytherin before Neville could actually come over to him. 

“Where is Malfoy?” Weasley demanded, keeping Harry at wand point still. The green eyed boy quickly raised his hands to show that he wasn’t holding his wand at all. “Is he sending you as his second? I’m not afraid of you either, you… Pureblood elitists!” He hissed the last words out as if they were the most powerful, painful curse he could think of. 

“We don’t have time for this, Filch his coming. This was all a trap, I came to warn you.” Harry breathed out his answer, it flew from his lips like that of a terrified bird. “We have to get out of here.” He finished. 

Both Granger and Neville looked around for Filch, realisation dawning upon both their faces. Yet Weasley was stone cold, despite his hand shaking slightly and his lower lip threatening to force his entire face into a pout. “I don’t believe you… this is probably another trick.” He looked like he thought hard before his eyes lit up with realisation. “You’re the distraction, he’s going to attack from… behind!” He called out as he spun around, thinking that he would catch Malfoy sneaking towards him with his wand drawn. There was nobody behind him, but his yell had been loud enough that somebody had noticed. 

“Is there somebody there?!” Filch’s horrible and raspy yet strong voice answered Weasley. They could hear his footsteps coming closer, the pace becoming faster. 

Weasley was pale as a sheet, Granger looked like she might cry and Neville looked terrified. Harry felt like a trapped animal, but he was able to regain his awareness first. “Everyone… run!” He hissed out, grabbing Neville to snap him out of it. Neville grabbed Granger in turn and the three of them began running, with the redhead following close behind them. 

The feeling of being chased by something semi-known was terrifying. Harry had sometimes had dreams like that, but it didn’t compare to the fear of actually being hunted through a complicated labyrinth of corridors, dead ends and empty hallways. No matter where they ran, or how many corners they turned, Filch never seemed to be further away. They could hear the sound of his terrifying cat meowing in front of them, consistently telling her master where to find his frightened prey. 

Suddenly, she appeared before them. A thin, grey cat with such intelligent eyes that she might as well have been human. Her feline face seemed to display a crude smirk as she calmly sat down in front of them, blocking their path with her tiny little body. Weasley turned to run back, but Filch’s footsteps were almost upon them. Granger reacted first, and tried to open the heavy locked door next to them. It didn’t budge, so she pulled out her wand and uttered a spell. The door swung open and they all rushed inside, closing it. The last thing Harry saw before the door shut was that terrifying smirk on Mrs. Norris’ face, the expression seeming gleeful and frighteningly human. 

“My dear, did you catch them?” Filch voice was suddenly there, he was breathing hard and Harry could swear that he could smell the sweat even through the door. The cat answered by meowing. “I suppose they got away this time… or are they hiding behind that heavy door, my dear?” 

Harry caught a glimpse of Granger’s face, which was stained with tears. She kept her hands in front of her mouth, trying desperately hard to not utter a sound. Neville had closed his eyes, pressing himself against the wall behind him as if that would make him smaller. Harry couldn’t tell what Ron was doing, as his back was turned towards him. The green eyed boy had no idea what expression he wore, but he knew that he had never been this scared in his life. 

“Well, if they are behind that door, there would be no reason for us to bother with them anymore.” Somehow, those words were even more terrifying than anything else which had happened so far that evening. 

Filch’s footsteps disappeared, and it look them all a long time before they managed to comprehend that they hadn’t been caught. Just as they began to understand that they had gotten away, Harry’s arm was grabbed by Neville. It wasn’t in any way a gentle grip, but a hard, terrified one, his nails digging into Harry’s skin. 

“Ow…” The son of a werewolf grunted. “Neville, that hurts.” He turned towards him and saw the boy point, tears forming in his eyes. Harry looked the way he was pointing, and instantly forgot how much the other’s grip hurt him. 

“No…” Granger whimpered, looking over to see what Harry and Neville were staring at. 

In front of them lay a large dog. No, large was too small a word for this creature. It was gigantic. Not only that, it had three heads, all of which were blissfully snoring on top of its huge paws. Harry noticed that it was sleeping on top of what seemed to be a trap door, something he noticed when he realised just how big those paws were. 

“We’re on the forbidden floor…” Granger whimpered. Her voice caused one of the ears to stir, and the beast sniffed in the air. 

“Everyone out…” Harry hissed, speaking in a darker voice as to not alert the beast with a higher pitched noise. 

Weasley pulled the door open, and the creaking of the hinges were enough to make all their hearts collectively feel like they had stopped. Nonetheless, the door opened, and they all backed out. Weasley and Harry closed the door together, and Granger locked it using another spell which they had yet to be taught in their classes. Harry had never been more thankful for her hunger for knowledge. The giant dog never even knew that they were there. It kept on sleeping soundly, dreaming about whatever large canine beasts dream about. 

The four of them sneaked away from the third floor, and despite better judgement, Harry whispered to Neville, questioning why he and Granger had been there in the first place. His friend explained to him that he had been locked out of the common room and had been sleeping in the staircase when Weasley had exited the room to go duel Malfoy. The portrait which hid the Gryffindor quarters had apparently gone for a stroll, and they had all been locked out, thus deciding to come with the red haired boy to try and talk sense into him. Or at the very least try and make the duel less dangerous for both him and Malfoy. 

They reached a point where Harry could slip away into the dungeons unseen, and he halted there to wave goodbye before beginning to scurry down into the welcoming darkness of the dungeons. Weasley’s voice reached him before he could get away, and he turned to look back upon the redhead with a disapproving, stressed frown on his face. 

“I won’t thank you. You and Malfoy are still scum in my book, and I’m not in any way indebted to you.” The Gryffindor boy looked ready to fight Harry with his bare fists. The green eyed boy blinked and then shook his head. 

“Just don’t accept or try to initiate any more duels, please?” He hadn’t expected Weasley to suddenly be his friend after such an event as this, and he wasn’t certain he wanted someone like the redhead as his friend, but a little appreciation would have been nice. 

Weasley huffed in response, and turned back to his fellow Gryffindors. Together, they headed for their dormitory, while Harry returned to his. Only when the heavy brick wall shut behind him did he managed to calm his beating heart down. 

Harry hadn’t realised how long he had been gone until he spotted the empty common room, and was able to look at the clock on the wall for confirmation of the time. He quickly made his way to his dormitory, and without changing clothes, he fell asleep on top of the covers, beyond exhausted after all that he had been through that night. 

He had a dream about Gilderoy Lockhart, who arrived at Hogwarts to exorcise it from a dark evil. The loud man dragged everyone to the three headed dog’s chamber, and cast the spell which supposedly transformed a werewolf back to human on it. The dog turned into Quirrell, who twisted his hands and whined about poor children. His voice echoed in the room, creating two voices instead of one. 


	7. Chapter 6 - In which Harry Lupin writes a letter to his dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Potions Master huffed and continued speaking. “Thus, you believe yourself to stand above rules and laws? You believe yourself worthy of not having to follow them like us other mere mortals?” The man swept out with his arms as he spoke, looking down at Harry past his big hawk-like nose. “You think that because you carelessly jeopardised yourself in one mad stunt, you should be allowed to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team? As the Seeker, no less?”

The following week was hard on Harry. Blaise was still his best friend, and the two spent most classes working together. He had gotten a little closer to Neville as well, but Neville was also trying his hardest to be a good friend to Granger, despite the bullying which had made him run from her company the first time. Weasley treated Harry like he was a dangerous beast who had conspired with Malfoy, and Malfoy didn’t talk to him for interfering with his plan to get Weasley punished by Filch. Crabbe and Goyle were mostly around Malfoy at all times, but they weren’t in any way avoiding Harry. 

To add to that was the continued pressure by people around him that he should join the Quidditch team. Everyone seemed to treat it as something natural which he of course wanted, and the people around him either reacted with respect towards his talent, or jealousy and hate over the idea that he was about to become the youngest Seeker in all of Hogwarts history. All for the sake of catching one ball. Harry himself tried to tell people that the school wouldn’t possibly break all those rules for the sake of having an inexperienced and unwilling Seeker on the Slytherin team, but nobody was listening. Only Blaise seemed to agree with him that he shouldn’t be the Seeker for Slytherin, especially since he didn’t want to. 

Yet, the worst problem was Severus Snape. Harry came to fear and worry for his classes, not because he disliked the man or his subject, but because Professor Snape continuously called him Potter. Harry had continuously resisted, trying to make the man acknowledge him by his preferred name, but Snape was relentless. It had gotten to the point where he felt a deep regret within his chest every time Potions class came around. He continuously had to steady himself for the name which was not his, and argue for his right to not have to face the disrespect of being invalidated. Such a thing would be hard on anyone, but especially on a child. 

The other teachers respected him and called him Lupin, it was only Snape, and the senile old ghost known as Professor Binns, who called him something different. The latter man didn’t even call him Potter, but continuously referred to him as Riddle. Harry had no idea as to why, but he much preferred that name in front of a name which he so strongly didn’t associate himself with. Honestly, it just seemed like Professor Binns was confusing him with some other past student.

Harry wrote to his dad about his problems. He told him all about Malfoy and Weasley, and how he had broken the curfew to stop a pseudo war between the Slytherin and Gryffindor first year students. There truly wasn’t a point in hiding from his dad and lying about it all. Actually, it was relieving to be able to tell someone he trusted. His dad had been honest about past mistakes in his life, and how he was far from an exemplary student back in his Hogwarts days, and Harry was certain that he would understand if he just explained that he was scared of people being hurt on his account. He apologised for it, said he wouldn’t break the curfew again, and then continued to write about Professor Snape and the way he felt when the man ignored his request for the man to respect his identity. 

He ended his letter with telling him about Quidditch and how he had no interest to play, but how everyone had judged him in various ways no matter what he said. It was the second letter he wrote his dad, after having told him about his sorting result and his new friends, and he felt guilty that it was such a sad one, rather than a happy one to report all the good things which had happened to him. 

At least he had Blaise. He was a good and calm friend who wasn’t swayed by anyone’s opinion than his own. It felt very good to have a steady person around him, in his time of need. 

The day for the Quidditch tryouts came, and Harry had tried to remain in bed, but was convinced by Blaise to at least have breakfast. Harry felt like the entirety of the Great Hall was looking at him, and he felt like the world was swaying before his eyes as he tried to eat his bacon and toast. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were sitting a bit away from them, and while the two latter boys looked over to Harry every now and then, Malfoy pretended very hard that he couldn’t see Harry. 

It hurt. Harry would very much have wanted the support of Malfoy as well, rather than have the other pretend that he didn’t know Harry. They hadn’t know each other for that long, but the blonde really hadn’t seem like the type to just abandon friends when they stopped fitting into his preferred mould. 

As Harry agonised, and Blaise read _The Daily Prophet,_ they failed to realise that someone had approached them. “Come with me.” Professor Snape’s cold, nasal voice hit Harry like a whip over the neck. He looked at Blaise as if the other could save him, but realised that he was asking something very unfair of the young student. Thus, he followed the Professor as he headed towards his office in the dungeons, feeling like he was walking down the road of shame, not that he knew why. Still, if Snape came to get him personally, he was definitely in trouble for something. 

Professor Snape let him inside his office, and closed the door behind them. Harry suddenly understood what his dad must feel like every month when he shut himself inside his werewolf cage to wait out the full moon. He had never felt so trapped and so lonely. 

The head of the Slytherin House walked to stand in front of his desk, as Harry continued to stare down upon his own feet. The world was still swaying, and Harry felt as if his vision would blur with tears anytime soon. Had he been raised with shame and insult as an everyday occurrence, he might have been able to stay completely calm and emotionless, but he had been raised with love and compassion, and was thus unable to not feel in the situation. 

If Snape realised what Harry was feeling, he didn’t seem to be caring. “So,” once again, he would call him Potter, and Harry was certain that it would make him cry today. The Professor would take it as a weakness, and quite possibly remove points from Slytherin for Harry’s breakdown. “Mr. Lupin.” 

Harry looked up at the man, he could see Snape’s mouth continue to move, but he couldn’t hear what he said. His head was filled with one thing and one thing only, that the Professor had used his real name instead of Potter. The relief which washed over him was nearly indescribable. 

“Are you listening, Mr. Lupin?” Snape’s voice finally reached him. 

Harry’s face broke open into a grin and he nodded quickly. “I’m sorry, sir.” 

The Potions Master huffed and continued speaking. “Thus, you believe yourself to stand above rules and laws? You believe yourself worthy of not having to follow them like us other mere mortals?” The man swept out with his arms as he spoke, looking down at Harry past his big and hawk-like nose. “You think that because you carelessly jeopardised yourself in one mad stunt, you should be allowed to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team? As the Seeker, no less?” 

Harry nodded eagerly. “You are completely right, Professor. I really shouldn’t be allowed to break all those rules for the sake of playing for the team.” 

Snape’s eyes turned sharp, he looked like a bird of prey which was about to break the neck of its dinner. “Are you being funny with me Po-Lupin?” 

“Not at all, Professor, sir.” Harry raised his hands, he couldn’t stop smiling with relief, which might be the reason as to why the man through him to be mocking him. “You see, I truly don’t want to play the Seeker for Slytherin. I realised that what I did was dangerous and quite frankly stupid, and I never want to go that fast on a broom or risk my safety in that manner again. I never really liked Quidditch, and I think the sport itself is reckless and supports violence rather than sportsmanship and team spirit.” 

Professor Snape blinked at him. Despite clearly wanting to discredit Harry’s words, even Snape couldn’t doubt the sincerity in his eyes. Finally, he spoke. “So you… don’t… intend to try out for the team?” 

“No, sir. I’ve been agonising for a week over the fact that everyone expects me to. Nothing would make me happier than if you informed everyone that I won’t be an exception to the rule, and will not even be allowed to try out for the team.” Harry quickly rambled, cheeks heating with excitement over the prospect of getting out of this mess with the help of the Head of his House. 

Snape blinked again. “...I shall do that. I will speak to Flint.” 

“Thank you, Professor!” Harry’s excitement got the best of him, and he took a step forward and hugged the Potions Master around the waist. Snape froze. Harry quickly realised that he had no business whatsoever even touching a teacher, and he quickly backed away with red cheeks. “I’m sorry!” He more or less squeaked out an apology. 

Professor Snape’s expression didn’t change, his face was as hard as ever, but there was something different in his eyes. Harry didn’t quite have the ability to translate that something into a feeling, but he could describe it as something softer, something almost kind. The man shook his head, not disapprovingly, but as if to regain his composure. 

“Five points to Slytherin.”

Harry’s jaw dropped as he stared up at the man. “Do not lay a hand on me again, but know that you gained these points for the sake of being more aware than I would ever have given you credit for, Lupin. Now scurry off.” 

Harry tried to do just that but he was stopped by Professor Snape’s voice before he could quite make it outside. “You truly are his son, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question, but a clear statement. 

The son of a werewolf glanced behind himself, then bowed and quickly escaped the room.

It was an immense relief for Harry to have Snape calm everyone down in forbidding him from trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch team. The man had gone to speak with Flint personally, and everyone who had been present at the time had to take Snape’s orders for what they were. Those who doubted that Harry was relieved to have been freed from the pressure of it all needed only look at his face to realise that they had been wrong about the whole event. 

Harry and Blaise went to the library instead, so that Harry could return Gilderoy Lockhart’s book before the temptation to burn it became far too strong. He returned it and the two of them went to hide somewhere deep within the library for the sake of privacy, but on the way there, they were interrupted by Malfoy. Harry wasn’t entirely certain where he had come from, but it seemed like he had been running, as his hair was somewhat out of order and he was slightly out of breath. 

“Lupin…” He breathed, looking directly at Harry for a second before avoiding his eyes again. “I need to… I need to talk to you about something…” It sounded like he had practiced what to say, as the words were stiff and had a feeling of rehersalness over them. 

Harry and Blaise looked at one another, as Crabbe and Goyle caught up to Malfoy, panting far worse than the nimble boy was. 

“Do you want to be alone while you talk?” Blaise looked at Malfoy, who nodded. Harry agreed as well and the handsome boy strode over to Crabbe and Goyle. “Let’s get some water for you, shall we?” Crabbe nodded and Goyle gasped in response, the two of them happily following Blaise to the Great Hall. 

Malfoy grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled him deeper into the library, until he found a somewhat hidden little corner where they would most likely get to be remotely alone. The blonde let go of his arm. Harry was quiet, carefully glancing up at his semi-friend as Malfoy seemed to think. 

“It is not within my nature to apologise. I do not believe that I tend to have to apologise for anything, as I am more often than not justified in what I have said or claimed…” Harry listened to his disclaimer, carefully crossing his own arms in front of him as Malfoy continued. 

“That is not to say that I am the type of person who simply cannot acknowledge that I was not… correct.” So far, Malfoy seemed to be quoting an adult more than he was speaking from his own vocabulary. “What I mean to say is… I set up that duel with Weasley, and tried to get him into trouble for… your sake.” He glanced to the side, as his pale face began blossoming with red blush. “I may not like it when he speaks bad about my family, but he is a foolish mouse attacking a lion when he speaks ill of my heritage, you don’t have that protection behind you and therefore… him saying those things to you made me so… so angry!” He confessed with passion, now staring at Harry as if he was expecting a fight. 

Harry, in turn, blinked. He wasn’t entirely certain how to respond to all this, but he felt immense relief already in what Malfoy was saying. If it really was true, than Malfoy hadn’t just decided that he was a bad person and no longer worthy of being his friend, but this seemed to be a more complex issue. He stayed silent as it seemed like the blonde boy had more to say, but nodded as to show to his friend that he understood and respected what he was feeling. 

“And then you risked yourself for that stupid Remembrall!” Malfoy continued. “You could have crashed into that wall and… and everyone was treating it like it was a great thing. You didn’t even seem that shaken after you were taken to the infirmary, and when you came back, everyone had already decided that you would be the next Slytherin Seeker. I was laughed at when I said that I wanted to try out too, but they all acted as if it was alright because it was you.” Malfoy was clearly getting emotional, but he tried to keep it under control. When he stopped to breathe, Harry carefully reached out and grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it to encourage Malfoy to continue. He got squeezed back. 

“And then… then you risked yourself to save Weasley and I… I’m stuck wondering as to why you aren’t taking my side but just his. He clearly hates you, and I’m trying to be your friend, and instead you get to be the Slytherin Seeker which I wanted to be that so badly.” If he hadn’t been raised by his family, Malfoy might have been crying by this point, as his eyes were slightly wet with emotion. “I… I never imagined you not wanting to be the Seeker, but when Snape said it I just… I had to accept that you didn’t actually want to be. So… why are you always picking Weasley over me? Am I not e-” he stopped himself from finishing the sentence, instead staring down at his feet and sniffed. 

“I’m really sorry to hear that you’ve been hurting so much all this time.” Harry wanted to hug the other so badly, but he held back. He started with making certain that Malfoy felt that his feelings were understood and that his emotions were validated. He squeezed his hand tighter. “I never meant to pick Weasley over you, you are a far better friend to me, and I don’t even like Weasley at all. The reason as to why I step between you two is that, well, the Gryffindors are kind of… hot headed. If they find more reasons to freeze us out, our House might be considered even more strange and evil. If we want to change the way future Slytherins feel when walking down a corridor alone, we can’t stoop to the same level as Gryffindors.” He explained. “Anything you do to Weasley, he will try to do to you far worse, and I don’t want to see you get hurt because of him.”

Malfoy looked surprised, but he then nodded slowly. He understood what Harry was saying, and he knew instinctively that Harry was right on this topic. Harry did tend to be right about matters. The blonde boy took a deep breath, and looked over at Harry’s face, carefully studying his expressions as Harry continued speaking. 

“As for being the Seeker of Slytherin, I really don’t want to be. If you had asked me, I would have told that to you. I really think that you should try out for Seeker next year. You are clearly a very competent flier, and I think you would be a great asset for the team.” He carefully smiled at his friend. “I was really shaken by almost crashing into that wall, but I had a really nice chat with Neville at the infirmary, and he helped me feel better. When I came back to you, I didn’t want to act all scared and upset, as… well, I wouldn’t want to bother my friends about things like that.” This time, Harry was avoiding looking at Malfoy. 

Despite having grown up with a loving and caring father, Harry wasn’t straight up comfortable with the idea of burdening those around him with negative emotion, and would sometimes seek to deal with them himself. It was far easier to come to his dad with his problems than it was to burden his newfound friends. 

“It’s not a bother!” Both boys seemed surprised by the forcefulness behind which Malfoy objected to the idea of hiding emotions for the sake of not being a bother. “I… I completely misunderstood everything because you hid your actual emotions from me.” His eyes flickered. “I’d… I’d rather know than feel tricked by my own faulty conclusions.” 

Harry grinned at the other, squeezing his hand a little harder again. “Alright, I think that is fair. Is there anything else you want to talk about or have we addressed everything?” 

Malfoy nodded, slowly opening his mouth to whisper out a subtle “sorry.” 

Harry hugged him. Unlike with Snape, Malfoy spluttered out a confused noise which might have been a statement about not needing a hug. Still, he came to groan and returned the hug, much to Harry’s delight. 

“In the future, you should ask me, and I will try to not be dishonest with what I feel. Is that alright with you?” Harry pulled back from the hug, smiling at his friend. 

Malfoy agreed with a nod. “Alright. But don’t tell anyone else I thought you liked Weasley better than me.” He huffed, his cheeks threatening to become red again. 

“I’ll keep it to my grave.” Harry agreed solemnly. They looked at one another, and then began chuckling. “Will you teach me how to play Wizard Chess now?” The green eyed boy asked, beaming up at his friend. 

“Sure. I will teach you the meaning of the word defeat.” The blonde boy promised. 

They laughed again, and made their way to the Great Hall as to ask Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle what their plans for the day were.


	8. Chapter 7 - In which Remus Lupin receives a letter and writes one in return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Besides, Severus Snape was a Slytherin and he… Remus stopped himself from thinking about Snape that way. After all, it had been ages, he didn’t know what kind of man he had grown up to be. 
> 
> However, Harry’s second letter had a very clear idea of what the man was currently like. Remus didn’t quite want to believe it, as he knew what Snape had been through during most of his years at Hogwarts. How could he possibly find himself comfortable with bullying children and invalidating their feelings and identity, when he had gone through the very same thing.

When Harry had written his first letter, Remus was overjoyed to receive it. He almost scared Agrippa with his eagerness as he removed the letter and opened the envelope. Being alone should come naturally to him, but having had his child with him every day for about ten years made the loneliness far more apparent than Remus had thought. 

Reading Harry’s words was a wonderful comfort, and despite not wishing for his son to come back home, as that would mean he didn’t enjoy school, the werewolf was very aware that he missed his child. 

When he was notified that Harry had been placed in Slytherin, he felt a little tingle of fear in his chest. Despite everything he knew, and despite everything he had taught his son, he couldn’t help but wonder what James and Sirius would have thought if they knew that Harry was a Slytherin, rather than their preferred House. A part of him wondered if they would blame him for Harry’s placement. Then he thought of Lily, and quickly came to recognise that she would have scolded the ears off anyone who dared judge her son based on what House he was in. Besides, Severus Snape was a Slytherin and he… Remus stopped himself from thinking about Snape that way. After all, it had been ages, he didn’t know what kind of man he had grown up to be. 

However, Harry’s second letter had a very clear idea of what the man was currently like. Remus didn’t quite want to believe it, as he knew what Snape had been through during most of his years at Hogwarts. How could he possibly find himself comfortable with bullying children and invalidating their feelings and identity, when he had gone through the very same thing. Had Snape simply been a distant entity who Remus himself had no past connection to, he might have believed that Snape was the type of person who would take out his resentment on children. 

However, Remus had known Snape better than that. They hadn’t been all that close for most of their years at Hogwarts, but for a while, Remus had seen him as a dear friend. 

At a time when there was nothing to help a werewolf survive in the Wizarding World, being friends with one was such an impossible thing that most people couldn’t even imagine it. When he first came to Hogwarts, he had never imagined making friends. James, Sirius and Peter had been the friends he never dared to dream of, and in Severus Snape, he had found something which had felt like more than friendship.

At the time when Snape found out about his secret, Remus had been cruelly betrayed by one of the people he called his best friends. Sirius had tricked the Slytherin into following Remus into the Shrieking Shack, and while James had saved the teenager, he had still caught a glimpse of the werewolf. Instead of telling some authority or reporting Remus to the school administration, he had approached him personally. The creature who could have been the death of him was something which Snape willingly approached, and wanted to learn more about. When he had every reason to report him, Snape found a different path. 

With Remus’ assistance and experiences, the young, brilliant wizard had created the Lycanthropy potion by the age of seventeen. Their combined efforts made Snape able to publish research on the condition, which vastly lead to improvement in every werewolves life. That was not to say that they lived great lives now, or that people respected them as humans, but there was still a possibility, a single hope to remain in control during the transformation. 

Even when they had fallen apart due to circumstances which were far too complicated and messy to get into, Snape had still completed the recipe for the potion, even after Remus could no longer help him with it. Remus has always been thankful for what Snape had done for him, and there was that large part of him which would have wanted to be more than his friend. That foolish, foolish part of him who wished that their connection was as strong as he wanted it to have been. Besides, he was aware that he probably did fall in love in the first place because Snape helped him in ways which no other person did, it was inevitable that he would have felt something. It wouldn’t automatically mean they were right for one another. 

During certain long, dreadful nights, Remus would sometimes think of what could have been if he hadn’t been that much of a coward back then. Maybe they could have raised Harry together. 

Such thoughts weren’t realistic. A teenage crush didn’t ensure a life of loyalty or friendship. Whatever he had thought back then, and whatever he thought of Snape now, the reality was that it hadn’t happened, and thinking about it as a possibility even now was frankly rather uncomfortable and disrespectful towards Snape. 

Remus had often wanted to write to him, to see if they could mend what had been broken in school. He hadn’t imagine it to become romantic, but he would have liked to at least be friends again. 

He had never managed to write to the man, not until that day when he read his son’s second letter and found that the man he had admired and wanted to befriend for years now, had become a source of insecurity, anxiety and fear for his son. 

The werewolf could no longer postpone writing to his old friend, and he quickly sat down by his desk and began writing a strongly worded letter. He had spent so many hours trying to write to the man in the past. Usually, he got stuck in how to even begin the letter, but this time, he somehow knew exactly what to write. The words flowed from his quill, and before long, he sent Agrippa out again to carry his letter to Hogwarts and Snape. He had written it almost immediately after opening the last one, and expected it to arrive at least before morning. 

The letter which would arrive to Severus Snape read as following: 

_Severus,_

_It has been brought to my attention, by my own child, that you seem to have trouble respecting my son, as you have not been using his surname to refer to him. My son has written to me to inform me of how one of his biggest role models continually refuses to acknowledge his identity and self by acts of petty bullying._

_Severus, believe me when I say that I do not want to suspect you of this type of behavior, but I have faith in that my child would not raise the issue if it was not causing him psychological harm. If you were a private individual, there is nothing I could say as to change your mind, but I would like to bring to your attention that you are a Professor at Hogwarts, and you will be around Harry for a full seven years from now on. I hardly need to describe the damage your behavior could cause in a young, developing mind in a mere year. Even more so if it is allowed to continue for even half as long as seven years._

_As a teacher, hand picked by Albus Dumbledore himself, I expect better from you. As an adult, I expected you to know better than to wound your students’ minds with this type of behavior. As a person, I expected better. As an old friend, I am shocked._

_If this behavior does not stop and you begin to address my son as he kindly requests of you, I will have to write to Professor Dumbledore and express my concerns. I trust that you will do what is right and refer to Harry by our shared surname from now on, as I still believe you to be far better than this._

_Whatever past might have caused you to behave like this. grant Harry the basic human right of his own identity._

_Remus Lupin_


	9. Chapter 8 - In which Hermione Granger gains a true friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Troll!” Professor Quirrell belted as he ran. “Troll in the dungeons!” He stopped after having run all the way to the teacher’s table. “There is a troll in the dungeons!” After screaming it one last time, now having effectively silenced every other voice in the room, the man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground, passed out. 
> 
> There was a heartbeat of silence and then the screaming began.

Life very quickly became a lot better for Harry. Professor Snape called him Lupin, and while he wasn’t all that pleasant, he seemed to be less concerned with insulting students than he had a week prior, and more focused on being strict. He wasn’t exactly fair, but he was no longer unfair. Harry could finally breathe and not have to brace himself for every Potions class. Once the struggle for his identity was settled, he could actually focus on the learning. 

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were spending most of their time with him and Blaise, and the five of them got along well. Crabbe had confessed to Harry that he and Goyle very much disliked the fighting which had broken their little group apart. Yet they had found that Malfoy really needed the company and they weren’t quite certain how to influence him and Harry into making up again. Harry had Blaise, and they were worried that Malfoy would be all alone if they didn’t stay with him. The two of them had reasoned that they trusted that the two friends would be able to make up if they just got some time. They hadn’t expected Harry to come and solve it all, but they had expected it to be solved when Malfoy had calmed down enough to think about it. 

A few months had passed and they were approaching Halloween, which Harry happened to be very excited for, as he was a big fan of all things pumpkins. Pie, drinks, food, he loved all of it and couldn’t wait for the Halloween feast. Sadly, none of his friends shared his love for pumpkins, but by a stroke of luck, Neville told him that Trevor liked pumpkins, so at least he had one fellow pumpkin lover in his friend group, his very best friend nonetheless. 

There was only one lesson between Harry, Trevor, and the pumpkins: another class with Professor Flitwick and his sleepy voice. They were practicing a new charm, the poor man made a valiant attempt to teach it to them, but most people were far too distracted by the prospect of Halloween dinner, thus they failed to pay attention in class. 

Harry did attempt to cast the flying charm, Wingardium Leviosa, but his heart wasn’t in it, and the feather in front of him laid as still as could be. Behind him, Goyle gestured a little too violently and his feather was pushed off the counter by the gesture, landing in Blaise’s hair. The group of Slytherins laughed, and Blaise handed the feather back with a very amused look on his face. 

Across from them, Ron Weasley glared at their merriment, and turned towards his own feather. He violently waved his wand around, uttering something which sounded little like the actual charm. Needless to say, the feather remained in place. 

Next to him, Hermione Granger carefully made herself known, before she corrected his pronunciation. Harry wasn’t paying full attention to them, but he did notice when the feather lift from her desk and soared up towards the ceiling. She turned to Weasley with a smile on her face, but was met with a look so dark that it made the girl pale. She quickly avoided his eyes. 

“Oooh, well done Ms. Granger!” Cheered the teacher. “Ten points to Gryffindor!” 

Normally, people generally became happy from receiving points to their House, but the first year Gryffindors had long since grown so used to Granger gaining them points that they had begun acting as if it was their right and they no longer needed to celebrate it. The whole attitude made Harry feel kind of weirded out, as the concept of stopping to appreciate something for being given it a lot was very faulty to him. Still, he wasn’t a Gryffindor, his input wasn’t welcome or appreciated. It was all he could do to look, and remember to try and do better. 

The class ended with only Granger managing to make her feather float. The students eagerly headed towards the Great Hall, but amidst the noises all around them, Harry heard Weasley’s voice above them all. 

“It’s LeviOsa, not LevioSA.” He mimicked Granger’s voice, making a crude mockery over what it actually sounded like. “Ugh, no wonder she has no friends. What a pest.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed the girl push past Weasley and run across the hall as to escape his remarks. Neville noticed as well, and after glancing at Weasley with a look of disappointment and anger, he broke away from the crowd and followed the girl. Harry considered following them, but he was swept away by his fellow Slytherins. 

The food was just as great as he had hoped, with pumpkin alternatives which Harry had never even seen in his life. He happily put a little bit of everything on his plate, but couldn’t quite forget what had happened with Granger. She wasn’t by the Gryffindor table, neither was Neville. Harry hoped that they were at least together. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard something about Granger crying in the girl’s bathroom on the ground floor, and Longbottom trying to support her. It made sense with the direction the girl had been running in, and Harry wanted to believe in Neville’s ability to help her. Hopefully it would all turn out okay. Maybe he should save a pumpkin treat for Trevor, just in case. If he folded one of the treats into a bunch of napkins, he should be able to pocket it and hand it to Neville. 

For a while, the entirety of the Great Hall was filled with laughter and chatter, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. However, the peace was not to last. The doors flew open with a loud crash, and Professor Quirrell stormed it, robes and turban flying around him, making him look all the more like he had escaped from a storm. The man screamed at the top of his lungs, running towards the teachers’ table. 

“Troll!” He belted as he ran. “Troll in the dungeons!” He stopped after having run all the way to the teacher’s table. “There is a troll in the dungeons!” After screaming it one last time, now having efficiently silenced every other voice in the room, the man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground, passed out. 

There was a heartbeat of silence and then the screaming began. There was panic everywhere. Next to him, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle screamed. Blaise had grown completely silent, staring in terror, and Harry’s mind was assaulted by all the impressions from the screaming. It was his instant reaction to cover his ears and shut his eyes as to try and shut out the violent chaos of voices and impressions as everyone panicked all around him. He felt his heart beat too fast in his chest, the storm of emotions and anxiety inside of him adding to the chaos of the outer world. 

It wasn’t until Professor Dumbledore’s magically enhanced voice filled the hall, demanding silence, that Harry was able to pull his hands from his ears and calm the sensory overload which had caused the reaction in the first place. The Headmaster of the school spoke, his voice filling the entirety of the Great Hall and making the candles tremble above everyone’s heads. 

“A troll has seemingly appeared inside Hogwarts. These are grave news, but do not panic. Gryffindors and Slytherins are to be taken to the Gryffindor common room, as the dungeons are not safe. The Hufflepuffs will accompany the Ravenclaws, as they are in danger from their common room’s closeness to the kitchen. The troll might be drawn there due to the scents. Move in one group, the Prefects guard their groups. Older students are tasked to protect the younger ones, but do not do so as the cost of your lives. Try to use small passages and smaller stairs rather than open corridors. Teachers, half of you will move towards the dungeons, the other half towards the kitchen. Let the teachers out first, then follow in organised lines.” He lowered his wand and the teachers moved out of the room, following his instructions. 

Despite his orders, the evacuation became messy. People screamed and yelled, crammed and pushed, and Harry was quickly separated from his friends. He realised something in the midst of all the chaos, and he tried to yell above the other voices. “Wait! Two people are in the bathrooms on the ground floor, they don’t know what is happening… Someone! The bathrooms!” His voice was completely drowned out by all the noise. 

Harry did something very stupid, someone he knew to be very stupid, but did nonetheless. He bit his lower lip and dashed away from the crowd, down a small side passage which allowed his small body to pass through without it being too tight of a squeeze. He exited the passage and circled back, ending up on the ground floor once more. He stopped to orient himself and then began running towards the bathrooms. 

Suddenly, a foul scent hit his nose and he froze in his tracks, quickly diving behind a nearby banner. He placed a hand over his mouth and nose to protect himself from the smell and from making any noise as the ground shook softly with the thundering steps of the giant troll. It was no longer in the dungeons. Harry stood still, his heart beating like a drum in his chest as he heard the troll move closer to his location. There was another strange noise, as if the troll was dragging something wooden behind it. Harry was familiar enough with trolls to know that they would sometimes uproot trees to use as weapons. He really, really did not want to know what kind of tree or weapon this creature had chosen to bring with it into Hogwarts. 

The footsteps disappeared, alongside the terrifying wooden scraping. Harry peeked out and then continued to run towards the bathrooms. He continued to smell in the air, and stopped if he thought the scent was getting stronger. He didn’t see the troll again, and was able to reach the bathroom without any further incident. 

Harry pushed the door open, his breathing alone made it clear just how stressed and frightened he was, even without looking at his face. The door fell shut behind him as Harry spotted Neville, who was sitting outside a closed booth. Before Neville could ask what was going on, Harry put a finger to his lips and hurried over to him. “Where is Granger?” 

Neville pointed at the booth, which Harry promptly knocked on. “Granger? A troll has appeared inside the castle, we have to get to the Gryffindor common room as soon as possible… It’s big, huge, everything be cursed we have to run now.” He rambled at the door. If the three of them had been scared by being chased by Filch, it was nothing compared to what he was now. 

The girl opened the door, peeking out at Harry with a tear stained face. “A… troll…?” She asked. 

Harry nodded. “We have t-” as he spoke, he felt his heart drop in his chest. The foul scent was suddenly all around them, alongside the sound of the door opening. Judging by Neville’s look, he was staring straight at the troll, and as Harry spun around, so did he. 

Up close, the scent was so bad that it made Harry’s eyes water. The beast was indeed holding a giant club made out of wood, it was swaying calmly in place, watching them with beady yet hungry eyes. Harry took a step back, and as he did, his hand brushed against his pocket. He felt the napkins in it, and had a wild, mad idea. 

Slowly, he pulled the food from his pocket, and watched the troll’s nose twitch. It swayed slightly forward, leaning into the scent of the baked pumpkin. “When I say run… run.” Harry slowly lift the napkin over his head, the troll followed it with its eyes. Harry gathered all his might into one throw and made the napkin sail over the troll’s head and towards the corner of the bathroom. The troll leaped after the food and Harry screamed for the other two to run as he broke into a dash himself. 

The two Gryffindor students followed him, and they made it out of the bathroom. The troll had been roused by Harry’s scream and their running, and it turned to follow them. Had Dumbledore not advised against it, Harry suspected that they would have tried to outrun the troll in the big open passages, but he already knew that they couldn’t outrun a troll, and the castle had plenty of hidden spaces. 

Harry slid to a halt in front of a smaller corridor, through which the troll couldn’t stand up properly, and directed Neville and Granger inside. Behind them, he could see the giant furious troll come running at them with its club raised. Harry hadn’t known what fear was until that point. He thought he knew, but he really didn’t. He leaped after the other two, yelling for them to continue running. It was all he could do to herd them towards safety, hoping that the noise from the troll would alert someone. The troll roared again, slamming its club against the walls which kept it from its prey. 

Neville exited the corridor first and made to run towards the Great Hall and the staircases which lead to the revolving staircasses. 

“The other way!” Harry called, pushing past Granger. “There is a hidden passage which leads to the dungeons right behind that Slytherin banner. Down, down!” He grabbed the girl and pulled her with him, making her continue to run again. 

There was another roar as the troll looked for a way to break down the walls and fit into the corridors. Neville yelled back at Harry as they continued running towards the banner. “It’s down on its knees, crawling after us!” 

Harry pulled the banner aside and let Granger go first, holding it open for Neville. He pulled his wand out, not that he knew what to do, but he felt like he had the ability to do something as long as he had it, compared to not having it. “It won’t fit through this passage!” As Neville more or less dived into safety, Harry saw the big hand of the troll appear in the opening to the smaller corridor, followed by the ugly head. It spotted Harry and roared once more. Harry jumped in after Neville, and ran down the stairs alongside the two Gryffindor students. 

They came out past another Slytherin banner, conveniently close to the Potions classroom. Somewhere above them, the troll roared into the hidden passage, effectively causing its roar to be at least three times as loud. Harry, Neville and Granger covered their ears. However, they were not the only ones to hear the very loud roar, and as the trio continued to run, they quickly met up with the teacher group which had went into the basement, lead by McGonagall and Snape. 

“The Potions shortcut!” Harry called, pointing behind them. Professor Snape’s eyes lit up with understanding and he swept past the children to fearlessly head into the passage. 

Madam Pomfrey gathered the children into her arms, and quickly began moving them towards the Slytherin common room. She spoke the password and ushered the children inside, telling them to remain quiet and not leave. 

Harry, Neville and Granger all sank together where they stood, completely out of breath and sweating. Their terrified pants quickly filled the whole room. It was broken by Granger’s sobs as she began crying. Neville took her into his arms, despite trembling, he held her, gently trying to calm her down. Despite being that very terrified, he still did his best to comfort her. 

Slowly, Harry began to chuckle, fear going straight to his head, making him laugh. Neville’s nervous chuckle joined him, and the two of them laughed together to keep from breaking down crying. Granger called them out on it. 

“What are you laughing at?” Her voice broke, and she hiccuped as she talked. 

“This is the second time we run away together.” Harry shook his head, taking his glasses off to wipe away the sweat from them. “I never thought we’d face something more terrifying that Filch, and then we ran into that dog… and now we ran away from a troll together… Is this how everyone’s first year at Hogwarts go?” 

Granger shook her head and then hid against Neville’s shoulder again. Neville patted her back as he looked to Harry. 

“You… you came to get us? You put yourself in that kind of danger for our sake?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe what he was saying, but his words caused Granger to look up at him again. 

“H… For us?” She hesitated. “For… me too?” 

Harry nodded and put his glasses back on his nose, having succeeded in nothing but messing up his glasses more with his sleeve. “Nobody would listen to me, and I couldn’t just come along knowing that you two might be killed if I did nothing. I… oh, I will have to write to my dad and apologise again…” He whimpered as he realised just how upset his dad would be at his second close encounter with death or dismemberment in less than half a year. 

Granger carefully separated herself from Neville and hugged Harry too. “Thank you.” She sniffed into his clothing. Harry gave her a hug back, feeling her tremble slightly as he did. 

“It is what anyone should have done. I’m sorry I was the only one to realise, or you might have been saved without having to run for your lives like that.” He didn’t know what else to say. Taking the credit for doing something so reckless wasn’t something he found himself comfortable with doing. 

When Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall arrived in the Slytherin common room, the trio had relocated themselves to the sofas, patiently waiting for someone to come and tell them what was happening. Neville and Granger were sitting next to each other on one sofa, and Harry was sitting alone on another one. He very much wanted to go sit with them, to join in with them, but he realised that he was pretty much a stranger to the girl, so he tried to keep a respectful distance. 

They stood up to meet the teachers, and McGonagall looked over them with a stern look. “I’d very much like an explanation for this whole event. Why didn’t you follow the instructions given by the Headmaster?”

“Yes, why?” Professor Snape agreed, giving Harry a strange look. The boy once again found himself unable to translate the emotions behind said look. 

Harry took the glance as Snape demanding that he answer the woman’s question, and so he began speaking. “Ms. Granger wasn’t present at dinner, and Mr. Longbottom was supporting her. I tried to tell everyone about them not knowing about the troll, but nobody could hear me.” What had started as a rather straightforward answer quickly became a ramble. “I tried to get help but when I couldn’t I did something really stupid. I know I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t just leave them alone to their potential... death. I had to do something, to try and get them to safety. I wouldn’t have done it if there was another option, I know I put myself in danger, and it might have been my fault that the troll found us in the first place. I’m truly sorry!” He ended his explanation with a deep bow. 

The teachers looked at one another, and then back at him. Harry failed to notice the look in Professor Snape’s eyes when he turned back to look down at the son of a werewolf. In the past, James Potter had risked his life to get Snape to safety. He had carelessly run into danger for the sake of someone else, and no matter how much Snape wanted to forget the incident, it was a fact that Potter had most likely saved his life that night. Before him, the Potions Professor saw the actions of that man, but he saw the behavior and body language of the werewolf. Even if the child looked like a copy of James Potter, he was far less James and all the more Remus. So far, he hadn’t seen a lot of Lily Evans in the boy, but his green eyes were so painfully reminiscent of his mother’s. It might have been easy to continue to mistake the boy for James Potter, had he not been acting so very clearly like his adoptive father. 

“Then Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Granger are innocent participants in this all, and you disobeyed instructions as to save their lives?” McGonagall question, causing Harry to nod almost furiously. 

“Yes. I was disobedient, they have nothing to do with this all.” The green eyed boy agreed. 

“...A rare attitude for a Slytherin.” The woman pondered as she looked him over. “Fifteen points from Slytherin. What you did was dangerous and should in no way be encouraged, I hope you will think long and hard about what might have happened had you not been able to get away.” 

Harry felt impossibly relieved that he had only lost them a mere fifteen points, rather than more. By more, he meant his newfound friends or his own life. Those were far more important than a House Cup. 

Snape’s nasal voice spoke up, surprising everyone present. “Five points to Slytherin. For doing what was right in place of someone more capable, because it had to be done.” Everyone stared at the Potions Master, but he paid them no mind, instead turning to sweep out of the common room. 

McGonagall recovered first and ushered her students towards the door, telling Harry to go to bed as she disappeared out. The son of a werewolf was left alone in the Slytherin common room, waiting for the other students to return. 

Goyle spotted him first, and pointed to the rest of the group. Malfoy hurried towards him, followed by Blaise and then the two larger boys. Harry made his way to them in return, and had to explain to a very stressed group of friends exactly what had happened. He pulled them them into their dormitory and tried to explain the best he could. 

Part of him expected Malfoy to turn away again, for another fight to separate them, but to his great surprise, Malfoy scolded him for what he had done, sounding quite alike Professor McGonagall. He demanded that the next time Harry decided to do something stupid, he wouldn’t do it alone, the very least he could do was to ask his friends for help.

“Don’t count me in on that.” Blaise shook his head and raised his hands. “I have no intentions of joining you in anything dangerous. You leave me out of that, thank you very much.” 

“I’d come with you, Harry, just maybe not… against trolls.” Goyle spoke, looking very troubled but honest. 

“If Malfoy is coming, I guess I am too…” Crabbe glanced at the smaller, blonde and somewhat frail looking boy. 

“I do not need protection, I am quite the capable wizard.” Malfoy scoffed in return. 

“The toilet spider certainly didn’t find you all that capable.” Crabbe smirked, trying to hide the grin behind his hand. Goyle snickered as well as Malfoy looked close to utilizing his pillow as a weapon of murder. Luckily enough for Crabbe, that was below Malfoy’s status as a wizard and not Muggle. Crabbe would not be murdered by means of pillow that night. 

“Does anyone mind if I sleep in their bed tonight?” The eleven year old child carefully looked around at his friends, looking rather sheepish. “This has been a really rough evening, and I’m… sort of shaking still. I’d really appreciate not being alone in my bed tonight.” 

Crabbe didn’t hesitate whatsoever. “Sure, I don’t mind. You can share mine.”

“Thanks, Vince!” Harry beamed at him. 

That night, he fell asleep next to Crabbe. It might have been because of the safety from closeness to another person, or it could have been due to the boy’s sturdy frame, or the exhaustion from the evening, but Harry fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.


	10. Chapter 9 - In which Rubeus Hagrid is shocked to learn that his dog has met Harry Lupin Potter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry smiled at him, trying to be attentive while also attempting to sneak a peek at The Daily Prophet which Blaise was reading. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in what Malfoy was saying… No, in actuality, he was only interested in it because it was his friend talking about it so enthusiastically, but the newspaper had conducted a follow up investigation of the break in at Gringotts, and Harry very much wanted to know more about that story. 
> 
> “Did they even find a Seeker?” Crabbe asked, chewing down yet another sausage. 
> 
> “Apparently.” Malfoy shrugged. “But I heard that nobody really applied for the position and that Wood had to bribe someone into playing for the team. He sure must be desperate.” 

“This will be our first game of the season, and we are facing Gryffindor. There is no way whatsoever that we will come even close to losing.” Malfoy spoke proudly, his scrambled eggs forgotten on the plate before him. “The Slytherin team has won the Cup for three years in a row now, ever since Flint became captain. He has elevated our team into a real powerhouse, Gryffindor doesn’t stand a chance!”

Harry smiled at him, trying to be attentive while also attempting to sneak a peek at _The Daily Prophet_ which Blaise was reading. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in what Malfoy was saying… No, in actuality, he was only interested in it because it was his friend talking about it so enthusiastically, but the newspaper had conducted a follow up investigation of the break in at Gringotts, and Harry very much wanted to know more about that story. 

“Did they even find a Seeker?” Crabbe asked, chewing down yet another sausage. 

“Apparently.” Malfoy shrugged. “But I heard that nobody really applied for the position and that Wood had to bribe someone into playing for the team. He sure must be desperate.” 

There was a cry above them as another late owl arrived to deliver its message. This time, the owl landed on Harry’s shoulder, and he turned to find Agrippa holding out his leg for him. “Hi!” Harry enthusiastically accepted the letter, and then leaned in to snuggle the owl. It seemed that the animal was rather tired, and it enjoyed its position on Harry’s shoulder where it could just rest for a while. “I’ve been waiting for you, thanks!” He scratched the bird under his beak, causing it to sink together a little further with comfort on his shoulder. 

“Is it from your pops?” Goyle said longingly. He hadn’t gotten a single letter from his family since he started school, and seemed to be feeling slightly homesick. 

“Yes it is, he is the only one writing to me.” The green eyed boy smiled as he opened the letter. 

_Dear Harry,_

_I can not believe that you have now faced down a troll. How such a creature could make its way into Hogwarts is beyond baffling and I cannot express how happy I am that you are safe. Despite the bravery in your actions in regards to your fellow students, I cannot possibly condone this type of behavior. Please, for the sake of my heart, do try and stay out of any more deadly situations in the future._

_I am glad to hear that Professor Snape has begun using your surname to address you. He very much should have from the beginning, but I am glad to hear that he had a change of heart. Ideally, he should apologise to you personally, but adults often forget the virtue of humbleness, and see themselves above such actions as admitting their faults. Harry, know that Snape’s disrespect was the cause of this argument, not your wish to be respected._

_Further, I write to ask if you will be coming home for Christmas this year. You are well familiar with our state of economy, and while you coming home is not a financial issue, I cannot help but think of the far more appealing food which is likely to be served at Hogwarts. If you would rather choose to stay there over the Holidays, I will not hold it against you whatsoever. I believe in your judgement of your own desires and will respect whatever choice you make._

_With love,_

_Dad_

Harry frowned as he finished reading the letter. The change of his general mood did not go unnoticed, and Blaise asked him if something was wrong. 

“Not wrong per say.” Harry folded the letter and scratched Agrippa under the beak as he spoke. “Dad thinks I might want to stay here at Hogwarts for the sake of the food and the access to a bigger library to keep me entertained. As if I’d want those things more than I want to see him.” 

Malfoy glanced at him, and for a few seconds, there was a look of superiority in his eyes. It quickly ebbed away, as he realised that having enough money as to think that Hogwarts food was lacking wasn’t likely to add anything but distractions to the conversation. 

“I suppose that you will have to write to him and tell him that you are coming home then?” Blaise asked, turning the page of his newspaper. 

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” He stuffed the letter in his pocket. 

“Speaking of the Holidays, are we exchanging presents?” Goyle asked, looking a little troubled. “I’m not very good with what to buy for people.” 

“My tastes are rather expensive.” Blaise didn’t even look up from his reading. “If we’re just exchanging them because we have to, I’d rather not participate. I don’t like receiving little things for the sake of friendship. I already know you like me so the effort really isn’t worth it.” 

“So we don’t have to?” Crabbe looked very relieved. 

“If anyone wants to give me some chocolate, I’ll be happy.” Harry laughed. “But no, I really don’t need anything and we don’t have to exchange presents.” 

“Whatever you’ll give, my father will give me something far more impressive.” Malfoy shrugged. “None of you can really compete with his economy, so you needn’t bother.” 

“Since when is gift giving a competition?” Blaise raised an eyebrow at the blonde boy, who quickly looked to the side. It seemed that he had tried to imitate Blaise’s attitude towards being given presents and somehow ended up with a completely different meaning to his words. 

“I didn’t….” He stuttered. Blaise returned to his reading, smiling like a parent who was just interrupted by a loud child. 

“It’s almost time for the game.” Goyle pointed out, looking at the clock on the far end of the wall. 

Malfoy caught the opportunity to change subjects. He grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him along with him. Harry had just read how Hogwarts was currently considered the most secure place in all of Britain, now that the trust in Gringotts had been broken. The reason as to why Malfoy was so eagerly pulling Harry along to get to the Quidditch arena was that Harry had offhandedly mentioned never having watched a complete Quidditch game before. He had listened to a few games on the radio and had continuously found them too tense and too reckless for his tastes of entertainment. Malfoy was very determined in that this was his chance to truly indoctrinate Harry into enjoying the sport. 

Crabbe and Goyle followed them while Blaise waved them all off, he had no interest in the game and claimed to be far more interested in spending the day reading than watching people almost break their necks on brooms. 

“Do you remember the rules again, Lupin?” Malfoy demanded as they joined the rest of the students in moving towards the benches. Without waiting, he began explaining them for the third time that week. Funny enough, there always seemed to be points which Harry had forgotten about the game, so the ramble did serve as more than just wasting his time with repeating the same information. 

“Good morning, Harry.” Neville, father of Trevor, carefully joined them with Granger by his side. The two of them looked nervous over walking next to a bigger group of Slytherins, but Harry beamed at them. 

“Good morning, are you excited for the game?” Harry checked to make certain that he wasn’t interrupting Malfoy before answering. 

“Not too excited, as Slytherin is by far the stronger team.” Neville sighed. “I just hope that we won’t loose with too many points.” 

“That really is the best you can hope for.” Malfoy more or less snorted at Neville, not looking at him. “A painless, swift defeat.” 

Neville seemed very uncomfortable with Malfoy talking to him, and his expression didn’t brighten from Crabbe and Goyle laughing along with what the blonde boy had said. At least Harry was relieved over the fact that Malfoy wasn’t outright trying to insult the others, he merely stated what seemed to be a fact everyone already knew. The herd of students began to separate into their assigned House seats, causing Neville and Granger to be pulled in a different direction to them. 

“I’ll see you later!” Harry waved. “May nobody fall off their broom.” 

“See you!” Neville’s arm disappeared among the crowd. 

“Lupin…” Malfoy sighed as they sat down next to one another on the benches. “What are you fraternising with the enemy for? I know that you’ve saved their lives, but do you have to be so friendly with them before the game?”

Harry looked at him with a calm stare, raising an eyebrow at him. “In 2000 words, with at least three academic sources, explain to me why that is a bad thing to do.” 

The blonde boy huffed. “Superstition?” He tried. 

“We’re not even playing in the game.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend. Malfoy pouted, but didn’t raise the issue again. 

The Quidditch game was… a spectacle. Harry had found Filch frightening, he had found the giant three headed dog frightening, he had been terrified by the troll, but the cheeping, ever present stress in watching a group of teenagers fly around at breakneck speeds while chucking heavy balls at one another and wrestling in the air for control over another heavy ball was… a lot to deal with. It was a different kind of fear altogether. Harry winched every time the ball switched hands, and he held his breath with fear every time someone seemed about to fall from their broom or crash into the audience stands. 

Harry, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were by then standing at the front of the stand, leaning against the railing. Up in the air in front of them, one of the Gryffindor players were hit by a ball and tumbled towards the ground. Harry instinctively pulled his hands up over his eyes. As he did, he heard the loud sound of wood splintering, the next thing he knew, Crabbe had grabbed his arm and yanked him to the side. When he opened his eyes, he found that the railing had suddenly split where he had been leaning against it just a second ago. Had he not pulled himself back in that exact moment, he would very likely have fallen from the stand and towards the ground. Malfoy had noticed, and most people around them had as well, but the most chilling thing was that not a lot of people actually did notice at all. They were far too absorbed in the game to realise that the railing had broken. 

Harry let out a slow, shaken gasp, and turned to look up at Crabbe with a shocked expression on his face. “T...thank you.” He stumbled out before looking back at the hole once more. It was far too large and unnatural to have been caused naturally. In fact, it almost seemed like the perfect size to cause an eleven year old to fall to his death through. Malfoy swallowed, quickly removing himself from the railing as well. He was not about to risk the thing breaking in front of him too. Crabbe held onto Harry’s arm even afterwards. Yet other than that, nobody seemed to notice. 

“It was Snape!”

The game had ended, and none had seemed all the wiser about the broken railing. Harry and his fellow Slytherin students had sat down in the shade of the courtyard, allowing the son of a werewolf to breathe and calm down after having nearly fallen off the audience stands. The day was nice and sunny and the group of friends chose to remain outside instead of retreating into the dungeons. 

Granger had come running at them, followed by Neville. She looked shaken but she spoke with conviction, her eyes flaring with emotion and her cheeks red. It seemed that her hair had become an even bigger mess alongside her emotions, somewhat like a bird might cause their feathers to raise up in order to look more frightening after being frightened in turn. 

“What was Snape?” Harry asked. 

“That hole just appeared out of nowhere!” The girl insisted. “I saw him look towards your stand, and I saw his lips move, and then all of a sudden, there was a hole there. It was Snape’s fault, he has been acting all strange about you and disrespected you by using the wrong name an-” 

Harry raised his hands. “Calm down. Professor Snape might have been acting like that, but he has started to address me correctly now and hasn’t misspoken for months.” He couldn’t help but feel relieved that at least someone had noticed what had happened with the railing, but he wasn’t about to let that distract him from what sort of accusations she was actually speaking. 

Her cheeks heated worse with anger. “That doesn’t make it right!” 

“No, it most certainly doesn’t.” Harry agreed. “But we can’t change the past and he has been doing what is right since. I’m honestly still uncomfortable around him, but that doesn’t mean that I think he’d want to murder me.” 

“It’s not only that, he was hurt by that giant three headed dog. He wasn’t the day before the troll, and he wasn’t by the time he spoke to us in the Slytherin common room, but he was the day after.” She explained, at least beginning to calm down. 

“What giant three headed dog?” Malfoy suddenly bit his way into the conversation, glaring at Harry with a look of disapproval. 

“I never told you? Sorry, that time when I went to stop the duel…” Harry began explaining all about being chased by Filch and finding the dog on the forbidden floor. Malfoy looked sort of upset over the fact that he hadn’t been told this story earlier, so Harry tried his best to make the other understand that too much happened and he simply forgot to tell his friends. As he finished explaining, he turned towards the girl, having realised something as he spoke. “But why do you think he was wounded by that dog?” 

“I heard him. I was trying to find Mr. Filch to report a leakage in the girl’s bathroom on the fourth floor, and when I did, I heard him and Professor Snape talk. He mentioned that he had been bitten by that dog, and he specifically mentioned being unable to keep track of all three heads. It has to have been that dog!” She concluded, causing all the boys present to agree with her reasoning. 

“How do you all know about Fluffy?” A loud voice boomed out behind Granger and Neville, who both spun around with frightened looks on their faces. Behind them stood the half giant gamekeeper by the name of Hagrid. He had a rather peculiar way of speaking, one which was likely at least partly responsible as for people like Malfoy treating the man as less intelligent when he was clearly perfectly able to make himself understood. He was perfectly easy to understand, no matter whatever ignorant opinions people like Malfoy had to say to the contrary. 

“Fluffy?” Malfoy recovered first. Whatever secret technique Hagrid had for sneaking up on them, the blonde boy found himself being the first to acknowledge his presence with more than stares. 

“Yeah, Fluffy. He is my dog.” Hagrid sounded proud, and began digging in his coat for an old photography which he proudly handed to Neville. The boy smiled weakly and passed it on. When it reached Harry, he found himself looking down upon a picture of the half giant wrestling with a far too big puppy with three heads. Harry had never quite seen someone so happy as Hagrid looked playing with the giant dog. “Ain’t he a cutie?” 

“Adorable…” Said Malfoy, whose dogs at home were of a far more graceful breed and less prone to breaking limbs than Hagrid’s was. Crabbe and Goyle crowded around the photography, very excited about the large canine. 

“Why is your dog on the third floor?” Harry asked, looking up at the large man. “Wouldn’t it be far nicer to have him out here where he can run free and be a dog?” 

The bearded man nodded, a sad look passing over his face. “I’d like that, but Fluffy has a very important duty up there, guarding the… The… uhm.” He realised that he had said something he shouldn’t say and quickly shut his mouth. He even began to hum, as if that would be enough for the children to forget what he just said. 

“Oh, he’s a guard dog?” Harry continued, smiling at the man. “I’ve recently read in _The Daily Prophet_ that Hogwarts is even more secure than Gringotts, considering the recent break-in.” 

His compliments seemed to excite the large man once more, and he nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, and Fluffsy is just the first of those protection means. Dumbledore was really happy to have him, as was Mr. Flamel.” He stopped again, realising that he had said something he wasn’t supposed to, and quickly placed a large hand in front of his mouth. “I’ve said too much… I have duties to attend to, I will be leaving now…” He got his photograph back from Crabbe and Goyle, and half walked-half ran away from them. 

“Flamel?” Harry echoed, looking at Granger for an answer, but she only shrugged, looking uncertain and in deep thought. 

“There can only be one Flamel that he could be talking about.” Much to Harry’s surprise, Malfoy spoke up, looking after Hagrid as he ran to his hut. “Nicolas Flamel, he was a famous alchemist who is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, which powers include turning any metal to gold and producing the Elixir of Life. That is a potion which can make the drinker immortal.” 

“So the stone can be used to create an elixir that makes you unable to die?” Crabbe summarised. 

Malfoy nodded in response. “Yes, among other such feats. Judging by what the giant said, it seems that the Headmaster and Flamel have decided to keep the stone here for the sake of protection. I suppose it makes sense to hide it here as to keep it out of other people’s hands.” He shrugged. 

“Why would Professor Snape want to prolong his life? Is he sick?” Neville spoke up, the confused look on his face rivalling Crabbe and Goyle. 

“It wouldn’t have to be for him.” Granger added. She looked somewhat appalled that there was something Malfoy knew which she didn’t, but she was not acting like it was a problem. Besides, Malfoy just seemed happy to share his knowledge with the group, and had seemed happy every time he was able to show himself knowledgeable ever since Harry and he had started their discussions.

“Or,” Harry suggested. “He might not have tried to get to the stone at all, but checked to see if it was still protected. He could have gotten bitten while he was attempting to make certain that nobody had broken past the do-, uh, Fluffy.” 

“You mean to say that you think the troll was a distraction?” Granger looked him up and down, frowning slightly. 

“How else would a troll get inside Hogwarts? It couldn’t just have wandered in from the woods, only to find its way inside the castle and then gotten lost in the dungeons? I don’t know much about castles, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any troll sized entrances down in the dungeons.” The Slytherin explained, shaking his head as he spoke. “It feels like a perfect distraction if someone wanted to try and get to the stone and not be noticed, the dungeons would be the furthest away from the forbidden floor, right?” 

“In that case, the person who discovered the troll first is definitely the most suspicious.” Malfoy looked at Harry as a serious expression settled his face into a frown. “After all, what was he doing in the dungeons in the first place? His office isn’t down there.” 

“Wait, you think that accusing Professor Snape is unfair, but you’d suspect the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?” Granger crossed her arms over her chest, looking rather uncertain. “Don’t you think that is rather much?”

Malfoy’s expression soured, and he turned his head away from her, muttering something under his breath which nobody heard. It seemed that he couldn’t argue against her in this matter, and was therefore opting to stay silent. 

Their discussion didn’t go anywhere after that, as they were mostly stuck on the same points. Malfoy refused to speak any further, and after a while, Neville and Granger felt like they had outstayed their welcome. They said goodbye and left together. Silence hung over the Slytherin group before Malfoy turned to Harry and began talking about Slytherin’s victory in Quidditch. The uncomfortable tension was quickly removed, as the blonde boy continued to talk about the game, and then about what a real Quidditch game looked like, as his father had taken him to see some competitive ones in the past. 

Other than Harry almost falling to his death, and uncovering a possible plot of someone trying to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone, it was a pretty great Saturday.


	11. Chapter 10 - In which two Lupins celebrate the Holidays together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School continued on, and nothing of interest really happened. That is to say, no more trolls showed up, no more railings broke as he passed, and nobody refused to talk to him after a misunderstanding. Classes continued on like normal, Harry found a much better book about werewolves to read for entertainment, and Malfoy still didn’t know who Trevor was. 
> 
> The Holidays approached quickly, and Harry had never felt more excited by the prospect of a long journey than he had when he thought about going back home to see his dad.

School continued on, and nothing of interest really happened. That is to say, no more trolls showed up, no more railings broke as he passed, and nobody refused to talk to him after a misunderstanding. Classes continued on like normal, Harry found a much better book about werewolves to read for entertainment, and Malfoy still didn’t know who Trevor was. 

The Holidays approached quickly, and Harry had never felt more excited by the prospect of a long journey than he had when he thought about going back home to see his dad. When the week started, he could hardly wait to get home, and even Blaise found it hard not to chuckle at his excitement to go home. While most Slytherin students seemed fine with going home, with the exception of Theodore Nott, who would be staying at Hogwarts over Christmas, Harry noticed that Neville was not. 

The Gryffindor explained that he was returning to his grandmother, and that she was not the most pleasant person to be around. Harry had heard a little about her from Neville so far, and he wished that he could have taken the boy home with him to celebrate, instead of leaving him with his grandmother. However, there was nothing he could do about his friend’s problems, but he promised he’d try to send some chocolate to him as a present. The prospect of being reminded that he wasn’t alone in the world with only his old relative seemed to calm the boy down. 

It seemed far worse for Granger, despite her trying to hide that anything was wrong. Harry caught her looking stressed and uncomfortable more than once outside classes. While she did perform well in class, it was clear that she was distracted somehow. Harry didn’t figure out the reason for her troubles until she admitted that she wasn’t planning on returning home for the Holidays, but instead planned on staying at Hogwarts. Nobody else from her House seemed to be staying, which made the son of a werewolf feel slightly worried about her. She said she was fine, but Harry could tell that there was something she wasn’t telling him. Perhaps she had a difficult time at home, in a world where magic no longer existed as part of her every day. 

Malfoy was very excited to go home. He had started talking about his family dogs and had been completely unable to stop. Before they even boarded the train back to London, he had been forced to promise to bring back photos of the dogs, as they all wanted to see them at this point. 

Remus was waiting for his son by the Kings Cross station, standing with his back against the wall as to stay as far away from everyone as possible. Harry spotted him right away and after saying goodbye to his friends, he grabbed his luggage and hurried over to his dad. The werewolf spotted him and had to more or less hold himself back against the wall as to not run to meet him. 

Harry put his bag down and threw himself around his dad’s neck, the hug being returned by the man in a manner so tight that Harry had to pat his dad on the shoulder as to make him let go. Harry knew that they were getting very close to the next full moon, and he knew that his dad struggled with controlling many aspects of himself as they got closer to it, among others, his strength. Still, the only thing Harry needed to fear was too intense hugs, so it wasn’t really a problem in the first place. 

“Welcome back.” Remus carefully separated from his child, and gently smiled down at him. His eyes had become wet, but he was trying very hard to pretend that he wasn’t teary eyed. 

“I’m home.” The son of a werewolf smiled back. “I’m really thankful to have a break from school.” He made to pick up his bag but Remus got it for him. They took each other’s hand and began walking from the hidden platform and back into the world of Muggles. 

Home smelled strange. Even if it was the most familiar scent in the world, Harry had gotten so very used to the smell of his dormitory that he was surprised to notice that his own room smelled unusual. Nonetheless, the pillow was still pleasant and he found that falling down on top of his bed was still as great as ever. Remus would have wanted nothing more than to speak to Harry about school, friends, life and generally everything, but he also knew that travelling could be very tiring, and he wanted to allow his son some breathing space before demanding that they talked about anything. 

Harry lay in his bed for a while, eyes closed and allowing his body to simply relax into the familiar shape of his mattress and pillows. He didn’t really think about anything as he rested. When he got up, he had almost fallen asleep at least three times and decided to wander around his room to wake himself up. He looked at the posters and news clippings which he had put on his wall, and stopped to look over his small collection of books. The Lupin family didn’t have a lot of money, so Harry didn’t exactly own a lot of things, but he did own some. Of the items he owned, he treasured his books the most. Somebody else might have viewed those tastes as old fashioned but Harry didn’t care much for others opinions about what he found entertaining. While he knew that he had inherited money from his birth parents, his dad made a good point of not using or wasting that, as it would be Harry’s once he came of age and a good start for going out in the world after school. Besides, if spending time around his friends in school for the past few months had taught him something, it was that a caring parent was worth a lot more than the family’s economy. 

When he exited his room, he found his dad sitting by the kitchen table, reading a book. Harry glanced at the cover and found that it was a piece of contemporary Muggle literature, this one was titled _Jane Eyre_. What the Muggles called Classic Literature was pretty much what the Wizarding World generally called cheap modern entertainment. There was so much of it, and it was constantly being reprinted. One could easily find copies of it in second hand stores or any other library or book shop. Some higher end shops had recently begun to print the books and sell them at a much higher cost, claiming those books to be rarer than they were. All in all, this had lead to a market where many mages read classic Muggle literature for fun, and during later years, it had even become prestigious to have knowledge about it due to the marketing attempt of raising the value of the literature. 

Harry gave his dad a hug from behind, before moving to the fridge to get a glass of juice. He filled the glass and sat down in front of his dad, who had just placed the book to the side. “So…” Remus began, smiling at his son. “Tell me everything. Studies, friends, whatever you want or need to talk about, I want to hear it all.” 

Harry beamed at the man and then began to talk. He talked about a lot of things, about events, friends and whatever came to his mind. At first, he avoided speaking too much about the hard or painful things, instead focusing on the positive ones, but when he ran out of those, he found that he very much wanted to talk to his dad about what the Sorting Hat had told him about the night his birth parents died. There were other things he felt like he wanted to discuss, but that was the most prominent thought on his mind.

He halted himself, thinking about how to bring the topic up without making it sound strange. Slowly, he began speaking, “when I was sorted, I had a talk with the Sorting Hat. As it was reading my mind to figure out where to place me, it told me about my mother.” 

A serious expression came over Remus’ face, but it quickly turned into one of concern and worry, rather than anything akin to anger or upset. He nodded slowly, encouraging his son to go on. 

“It told me about the way she had been, not as much as you have, of course, but a little. While it spoke of her, it told me that she is the reason as to why I was able to survive back then. It said that I survived by the sacrifice of my mother, and that she was not the type of person who would just lay down and die when her child needed her. It didn’t tell me much more than that about her but… Well, I believed every word of it.” Harry tried to look at his dad when he spoke, but he found himself staring at his hands instead. “I’m not trying to say that you kept anything secret from me but… I’d like to… uh, I don’t think that… What I mean to say is… is that possible? Did she protect me with some kind of magic or…?” 

Remus looked like he had a moment of understanding, and he nodded slowly once more at Harry’s words, thinking about what he had said. Harry knew the look well, with the other turning his words over in his head as he thought of a good way to respond to them. He could also tell that his dad looked rather shocked with what his son had just told him. 

“Harry…” Remus began, sounding somewhat hesitant. “I do not mean to speak down to you because of your age, but what I am about to say might be a little complicated for you right now. That is not to say that you couldn’t possibly understand it, but that it might be hard because you lack the experiences which I, as an adult, have. I will try to be as honest as I can, but if you don’t understand it today, I want you to know that it is not your fault.” 

Harry nodded. He thought that he understood what his dad meant. 

The werewolf took a deep breath. “Death is… frightening. Back in the time when you were born, death was a constant threat to every single person, and a constant reminder of how fragile life was. Yet the horror of losing someone is far too great for most people to even begin to imagine. I thought I knew what it meant to lose someone, but I had no idea. Not until I lost my four best friends in the world, all while I was sleeping.” He stopped to breathe deeply, his eyes turning wet from emotion. Harry reached out and grabbed his dad’s hand, holding on to it. Seeing his dad upset made him want to cry as well, and he almost regretted asking about this whole thing in the first place. 

“But there was you. You were alive. Your very existence gave me hope, it gave me a reason to live and a responsibility to live. I never once thought to question why you were alive, or by whatever magic you had been saved. Speaking about it now, it seems so very clear to me that you must have been saved by someone else’s magic, but I have never dared thinking about this before. It felt to me that if I did, you might have been taken away from me. If I dared question why you had lived, I feared I would somehow lose you.” He was crying now, the tears running down his scarred face as he tried to hide behind his hand. 

Harry got up and walked around the table, quickly wrapping his arms around the man and hugged him. His dad sniffed and carefully leaned against his son, gently holding him. There had been so many times where his dad had held and supported him, keeping him company when Harry needed it. Somewhere in his eleven year old mind, he had always known that there would be times in the future when he would finally be able to return at least some of that support. 

Most of the time, he had been able to help his dad calm down by holding his hand and reminding him that he wasn’t alone. It felt really good when he knew he was able to return some of all the support his dad had given him through the years. 

Throughout most of his life, his dad had only needed the reminder that he wasn’t alone to calm down. Just a touch, a hug, or talking about something which interested his dad had been enough to help. Today was the first day that Remus needed more, and his son was happy to hug him as he cried. The werewolf felt bad to show such a weakness, as he found it to not be something a parent figure should do, but Harry found it natural. People sometimes needed to cry, and even if he couldn’t put into words why it was important to him, he wanted his dad to be able to feel without feeling ashamed of it. 

When the werewolf finally pulled himself together, Harry’s legs hurt a little. He patted his dad on his shoulder and then returned to his own chair, pushing the glass of juice over to the man. His dad drank, clearly thankful, and then slowly found the ability to talk again. 

“I’m sorry.” He took a few more deep breaths and then began again. “I… I never thought of what magic had saved you. I believe in the words of the Sorting Hat, but I am unfamiliar with whatever magic it could be talking about. I would like to do some more research on the subject and possibly write to Albus Dumbledore as I proceed. I’m… sorry I couldn’t help you in this.” He truly did look ashamed, but his son shook his head. 

“It’s alright, dad. I’m sorry to have made you cry, and I do think I understand what you are trying to say.” He wasn’t sure that he had, but he was pretty sure that he did. At least he had learnt that he had been a very big positive influence on his dad’s life. Harry liked that part, a lot.

“Time really did pass quickly.” Remus looked at the clock on the wall, looking somewhat lost as he did. “We should prepare food. Would you excuse me while I go wash my off face?” 

Harry did of course excuse him, and had some more juice while he waited. When his dad came back, they cooked together. It was somewhat strange to make food again, rather than being served it, but the boy was happy to undertake the challenge of cooking again. They talked about some less intense topics, as their discussion shifted to books they had read and enjoyed. 

The Lupin household had a rather humble celebration of the Holidays. They spend time together, played games, read books, built snow creatures out in the garden. They didn’t feel the need for a decorated tree, so the money which might have been spent on that was instead put into the food. On Christmas Eve, they prepared the food together, and on Christmas day, they cooked it. 

During the Holidays, Harry tended to ask if he could take some money out so that he could buy his dad a present, but every year he got the answer that Harry could help by putting some money in for food, so that they could both share a slightly more fun and interesting meal. 

The son of a werewolf had always thought that that was fair. He knew that his dad didn’t really want things, and most books which he wanted, he could borrow from a library. There was no point in placing money on such things when there were other options which made them both happier. 

However, that didn’t mean that Harry wasn’t excited over the prospect of presents. He was after all eleven, and there were things he wanted. Not a lot of things, but a few things that he would still want to own. He had asked, and been allowed to use some of his inherited money to buy some presents for his friends, as well as something for himself. Harry planned on giving the presents to his friends once they were all back at Hogwarts, they only had one owl after all, and it was unfair to try and send him all over the place for the sake of giving all his friends chocolate on Christmas Day. 

Still, Harry had sent Agrippa out on Christmas Eve to deliver some chocolate to Neville, and the day after, the bird was sent to Malfoy with another package. He hadn’t really planned on getting Malfoy anything, but when he and Remus had been out shopping for the dinner, he had spotted some cufflinks in a second hand store window in the Diagon Alley. They were little silver ornaments shaped like snakes. After asking his dad for permission, and after having Remus check if there was any negative magic connected to the items, Harry had bought them. It wasn’t much, the cufflinks were Muggle made, which explained their rather cheap price, but Harry hoped that Malfoy would at least be a little happy. Even if he had his friends had agreed to not force themselves to buy gifts out of necessity, it was a different matter altogether to find something he specifically wanted to give to someone. 

The day passed with the two Lupins busying themselves with cooking. Harry tried to not be too excited about the package which was resting on top of the living room table, he had already been caught poking it once. They would finish up the food, eat, and then open the package while eating Holiday cake. The cake was, of course, chocolate. Remus had never tired of chocolate throughout his life, and Harry hoped that he never would either. 

They ate, continuing to chat about things. By this point, Harry felt like he had little to say, but he always realised that there was something or another which he wanted to talk about. It was the opposite of a problem, and Remus seemed more than happy to listen, no matter the topic. He was only ever bothered when the topic of anything dangerous came up. Like most other parents, the werewolf did not enjoy hearing about times his child was nearly hurt. 

After food, they cleaned away the leftovers and prepared the cake. Remus paired his slice with tea, and Harry had his with hot cocoa. His dad had wondered if he really wanted to have chocolate on chocolate, but Harry had been eager to have it so Remus let him. After all, it was a day of celebration and his son was not usually spoiled. 

As Harry was about to open his present, there was a subtle knock on the window. Outside sat two owls and each holding a package. One owl was the most graceful thing which Harry had ever seen, and the other one looked so old that it might turn into dust at any time. The old owl held the bigger package of the two. Remus walked over and opened the window, accepting the gifts, gave each owl a pat and watched them fly off. He returned to the sofa, and showed Harry the presents. 

“It’s for you. Both of them.” Remus smiled at him. “Just let me check that it’s safe and then I’ll hand them to you.” 

Harry had always thought that his dad was just very careful with things he didn’t quite know about, but he also knew that Remus had come across many strange and dangerous things during his days, so he couldn’t exactly fault him for wanting to be careful. Even if it was a little overly cautious compared to what most people did, Harry didn’t mind waiting a little as to have his dad satisfy his desire to keep him safe. 

He was handed the packages soon after, and opened the smaller one first to find a wrapped up present and a little card. When he turned the elegant, black card, he found that it was from Malfoy. The note read ‘for that 2000 page essay you keep on talking about.’ He hadn’t expected anything but he got excited enough that he couldn’t help but open it up. Inside the wrapping paper was an elegant quill box, made out of a dark mahogany wood. Harry opened it to find a beautiful white quill inside with streaks of silver in it. He gently lift it up and held it up to the light, turning it as he did. It was beyond doubt the finest quill he had ever held, and it almost felt wrong to touch it. 

“That’s from young Mr. Malfoy, isn’t it?” Remus looked at the quill as well. “That quill is likely to outlive any other quill you could possible get. What a thoughtful gift.” 

“You, uh… won’t feel bad if I replace my old quill with this, right?” Harry glanced at his dad, who laughed softly at his comment. 

“It’s a quill, son. Why would I be mad about you replacing something as insignificant as a quill?” He leaned his head to the side, smiling softly. 

“That… is true.” Harry felt his cheeks heat, now it made him feel embarrassed to have asked in the first place. There really had been no reason for his insecurities. “Do you know the Malfoys, dad?” He placed the quill back in the box and put it aside, placing the bigger package from the old owl in his lap.

Remus’ expression turned complex, and he shook his head slightly. “I don’t know them, but I do know of them. His father, Lucius Malfoy, attended Hogwarts during my first two years. I remember him as a Prefect, but I might have been wrong. His wife was a member of the Black family, so we tended to avoid them. Not to mention that the older Slytherins didn’t actually want to have anything to do with us little Gryffindors.” 

Harry nodded, and started to unwrap the second package. This one had a card too, and it read ‘Use with care. Happy Holidays, young Mr. Lupin.’ “It doesn’t come with a name…” Harry turned the card over, and then handed it to his dad. As Remus read it, Harry opened the package and found a beautiful fabric inside it. With a frown, Harry pulled it out and held the item up. “I think it’s a cloak…?” He hesitated, leaning his head to the side. 

A look of surprise, disbelief, shock and finally recognition passed over Remus’ face as he looked up. He stared at the cloak, before placing a hand over his mouth, slightly shaking his head. “It can’t be…” His eyes scanned the item before he reached out and let his fingers move over the fabric. “...But what else… It has to be…” 

Harry frowned at his dad, unable to understand the reason behind the man’s expression and bewilderment. “Uh, what is it?” 

His dad seemed as if he woke up from a dream, and he retracted his hand from the cloak. “That used to belong to James. It had disappeared from the house when I looked for it. I thought that it might have been destroyed.” 

“But what is it?” Harry pushed. “Is it just a cloak?” 

Remus shook his head. “It’s an invisibility cloak.”

Harry’s jaw dropped, causing his dad to chuckle slightly. “A very high quality one. See?” He leaned forward and let his hand slip under the fabric. The cloak itself seemed to completely disappear as the magic was activated, and despite holding it, Harry couldn’t actually see anything but the table and his own legs. The hand had disappeared, as if it had been swallowed by thin air, there was no way to tell that the cloak was even there. Remus pulled his hand back and the magic was deactivated, returning to cloak to a beautiful piece of fabric. “When something made out of flesh and blood hides under it, it will completely disappear from view.” His dad explained. 

Harry jumped to his feet and walked to the center of the room where he pulled it over his head and disappeared. That is to say, to Harry, it looked like he was peeking at the world through a relatively thin fabric, but to his dad, he had just disappeared. Remus smiled at the place where he had disappeared, it was a strange smile which made him almost appear sad. His dad sat there, smiling at him for quite some time, looking like he was thinking something over.

“Harry, I…” He stopped himself, and then took a deep breath, trying once more. “I want to be honest with you, I am deeply troubled by all the things which have happened to you in school so far. The troll, that railing breaking, a lot of things which makes it seem like you aren’t actually… safe.” He sighed, looking down while nervously fidgeting with his own hands. “Normally, I wouldn’t really want to allow you to bring that cloak back to Hogwarts. We weren’t exactly responsible with it, but it is also thanks to it that my friends could come see me during that time of the month. I fear that it might encourage reckless behavior or breaking the rules but…” He took a deep breath. “I have faith in you. I know that you are not the type to be reckless for fun, and with everything that has happened to you, I’d feel far safer if you took it back with you. You probably will have need to disappear, if the second term continues the same as this one.” 

Harry removed the cloak from his head, looking over at his dad with determination in his eyes. This was not a conversation which a father and son should need to have together, the type of conversation where the younger was in actual risk of getting hurt or even killed. Harry knew that it wasn’t normal for an eleven year old to need a cloak of invisibility to be safe in school. “I will be careful, dad. I’m… really sorry about everything so far.” 

Remus held out his arms and Harry hurried into them, hugging the man were he sat on the sofa. His dad held him tightly, as if he almost feared letting him go. When he finally did, his expression had returned to a calm one, one which made the scarred face seem all the less scarred. “You still have a present left, I hope mine can complete with your other presents.” He was clearly joking, chuckling softly as he tapped the child’s nose. 

“We’ll see!” Harry jumped off his lap and ran to the last package. He picked it up and began opening it, finding a book inside. He eagerly held it up, reading the title out loud. “ _Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires._ Thanks, dad!” 

Remus smiled. “All your books about vampires and werewolves, someone might think that you actually are one.” He teased. 

“Let them think that then.” He grinned back, walking over to hug his dad as thanks for the present. “I wonder if I can trick anyone into thinking that I’m a vampire-werewolf hybrid.” 

“Oh please.” Remus couldn’t stop laughing at his comment. “Nobody would really believe it, that is physically impossible.” 

“So is being able to cast spell as a one year old, but people still believe that I was able to do that.” The son of the werewolf pointed out, causing Remus to almost fall of the sofa from laughing too hard. 


	12. Chapter 11 - In which Hermione Granger finds an old classroom and herself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This mirror doesn’t show your face, but a reflection of what your heart desires most dearly. It is a dangerous thing, many mages have wasted away in front of it.” 

Returning to Hogwarts was bittersweet. Harry said goodbye to his dad again, already missing him as the train began to move. He then met up with his friends at the train and had a very entertaining ride back. School started again, making for more studying rather than just being able to do whatever he wanted, which was sad, but he was back with his friends, which was still nice enough to be very encouraging. Harry supposed life really was a mix of positives and negatives, and he tried to find comfort in that. 

To Harry’s further happiness, he discovered that Malfoy was wearing the snake cufflinks which he had found for him. Malfoy told him that his parents didn’t find them too appealing in terms of quality, but he liked them enough to wear them in school, where they really didn’t have any say in what jewelry he chose to put on. Much the same, Malfoy was really happy about Harry using the quill he had gifted him, but pretended very hard that he wasn’t as happy as he was. During the train ride, Harry gave his other friends the chocolate he couldn’t send them during the Holidays. He would find Granger and give her one when they were actually at Hogwarts. 

Well at Hogwarts, Harry quickly noticed that he had troubles finding Hermione Granger. He would see her during breakfast, lunch and dinner, but never for long. When he did share classes with her, he noticed that she seemed somewhat strange. Her eyes were hollow, she seemed to be eating and sleeping badly, and she even made a few mistakes in class. That was at the point where Harry really started to worry. He excused himself from his fellow Slytherin students and hurried over to Neville. 

“Hey, Neville.” The boy turned and smiled at him, while the rest of the Gryffindor first year students looked rather displeased to have Harry in their midst. Ron Weasley looked especially displeased. 

“Buzz off Lupin.” Weasley muttered under his breath. 

Harry ignored him. “Can I ask you something?” He tried again, but the Gryffindor students seemed to have decided that he was a threat, and had stopped to circle him and Neville. The son of a werewolf suddenly realised that this might have been a bad idea, but he wasn’t about to stop talking to his friends because some people had decided that he was the enemy. “It’s about Granger.” 

Neville tried to answer him, but Weasley and his friends Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan seemed determined about Harry being out to cause trouble. Harry didn’t know as for what reason they thought that, seeing as he really hadn’t done anything to make them so suspicious of him. He wondered if they truly believed in those rumors about him supposedly being a dark wizard and all that. 

“So what if she’s a little out of it? Your friend Malfoy picked up those House points for her and now you’re here to gloat?” Weasley crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Harry with a very uncomfortable look on his face. 

Harry avoided his eyes, unwilling to face that hateful gaze. He sighed. “I just want to talk to Neville, please, this is ridiculous.” 

“What’s your deal with Granger either way? First you risk your life to save her, and now you’re following her around? Maybe you’re the reason as to why she is feeling bad in the first place. Are you in love with her or something?” Weasley accused him of a lot of things, making Harry’s heart pound faster with stress and discomfort. 

“I don’t know where you got any of that from, and no, I am not in love with her.” He tried to lean around Weasley to talk to Neville again, but the redhead was blocking his path yet again. 

“Well, stay away from her or else. She is a Gryffindor an-” 

Harry lost his temper there and then. It was one thing to be accused of a lot of things, but something completely else to hear the reason for a lot of the girl’s woes suddenly protect her under the guise of her being one of them. “As if you have the right to say that! You’ve hurt her more than anyone else and now you’re suddenly her knight because what? Do you realise that your hurtful words almost got her and Neville killed at Halloween? You don’t have the right to be all heroic now by making up reasons as to why I’m the bad guy in this scenario!” 

“W-well…!” Weasley faltered. “You are creepy with how much you care for someone who isn’t even in your House!” 

“This is a bloody school! House doesn’t matter, she is a person before she is any kind of trophy for you to wave about. Now out of my way or I’ll hex you!” 

Weasley pulled out his wand at that moment but before anything could actually happen, the wand was knocked out of his hand. 

“And what is happening here?” Professor Snape’s low, nasal voice somehow filled the silence more than any loud scream might have been able to. “Weasley. Lupin. Explain.” 

“H-he was…!” Weasley stopped himself, turning to glare down at his feet with a face as red as his hair. Harry blushed as well, he wasn’t sure if it was due to anger, shame, or something else. 

“I’m sorry.” Harry mumbled. “I got upset when I shouldn’t have.” 

Snape looked over them both, then shook his head. “Threatening to hex people isn’t exactly what the school values as its core belief, Lupin.” Harry blushed worse, avoiding looking at anyone as he came to understanding that he had indeed yelled that very loudly. “10 points from Gryffindor. Despite what Lupin said, he wasn’t actually trying to hex someone, Weasley. Now both of you, scurry off to your next classes. I don’t want to see you dawdle in the corridors any longer.” 

“Yes, sir.” Harry turned and hurried to try and find his friends, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, as the other boys scurried off. He froze for a second, but Professor Snape let go of him almost instantly again, almost too quickly, despite looking completely unfazed with the situation. He had that look in his eyes again, the one Harry had begun to associate with the man, the look which he could never understand properly. Snape simply looked down at him, and spoke, “do not let their words get to you, Lupin. You’ll find your friendship with that girl is worth more, do not waste it.” Harry couldn’t but nod in agreement, still rather surprised at having the man attempt to… comfort him, maybe? 

“I won’t, sir,” he hastily responded. Professor Snape merely nodded and strode off again. Harry got the sense that he would never understand that man. 

Later that day, he would hear a lot of whispers about how Professor Snape always favored Slytherins and never punished them. 

“I’m really sorry about all that.” Neville managed to approach Harry after dinner, looking very sheepish. He approached the Slytherin students after they had finished eating, and he looked quite nervous to be walking with them. It was very understandable for him to not feel comfortable, seeing what had happened to Harry that day. It wasn’t hard to imagine that many Slytherin students longed to gang up on a lone Gryffindor as to pay them back for cornering one of them alone earlier that day. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Crabbe and Goyle preparing for some manner of possible confrontation by making themselves seem bigger. 

“It’s okay, Neville. It wasn’t your fault.” He put emphasis on the words in the last sentence as to clue his friends in on that he didn’t want a fight. 

“What did you want to ask about?” Neville leaned his head to the side, smiling nervously at him. Harry could see his eyes wander, as if he was either looking for an escape route, or to keeping an eye out for anyone who might cause them trouble. 

“I was just wondering if you know anything about Granger? She doesn’t seem entirely well, I was just looking to give her the present I prepared but she seems to never stay in the Great Hall long. I only became worried today when she began making those mistakes.”

“Yeah, I am worried too, but she mostly excuses herself when I try to talk to her. She keeps on saying that there is somewhere she needs to go. I thought she was really into some studies in the library, but when I asked if she had been there, I was told that she hadn’t. She wasn’t in the common room either, and I’m just not entirely sure what to do about it? Maybe I should tell a teacher?” 

“Very good thinking. Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom.” 

The group stopped, looking up at the person who had just spoken to them. In front of them stood none other than Professor Dumbledore himself. Harry had never seen him this close up before and he was surprised by how human the man looked. He was an older man, his face was a complex canvas of wrinkles, hidden only behind his long beard and bushy eyebrows. He had very gentle eyes, and a soft smile. His clothing seemed to be made out of fine fabrics but it was humble in design, as if the choice of fabric had been made for comfort rather than to display wealth. When one looked into his eyes, it was as if looking up into the night sky, they seemed endless and ancient, but still held a kindness which was hard to describe. 

“T-t-thank you!” Squeaked Neville. 

“Mr. Lupin, may I request that you walk with me?” The old wizard asked, looking down at Harry. He glanced at his Slytherin friends, who all seemed a little too nervous to look directly at the Headmaster. Even Malfoy seemed humbled and nervous. Only Blaise looked calm, but Harry noticed that even he avoided looking into Professor Dumbledore’s eyes. 

“G-gladly, Professor.” He responded, and followed the man as he began walking. 

“Did you have a pleasant Holiday?” The old man hummed to himself as they walked up a set of stairs which Harry couldn’t recall ever seeing before. Professor Dumbledore continued before he had a chance to answer. “I had a very calm one. I was expecting a present from an old friend but once again, he didn’t send me anything.” The man sighed. “Truly, I’ve been sending him candy for years. He doesn’t even send me cards back.” 

They turned around a corner, and Harry watched the man step through a wall. He hesitated but then followed. “That is a little rude.” The boy agreed, looking around to try and orient himself as to where they were. 

“Indeed.” The Headmaster swept down a corridor with a speed that was way higher than any eleven year old's gait could keep up with. Harry jogged after him. “Then again. He is in prison, and has been for over twenty years now.” 

“I-is that s-so…?” Harry was so shocked that he didn’t quite know what to say. It seemed very impossible for the Headmaster himself to have connections to a criminal, but Harry had to remind himself to not make assumptions. He, the son of a werewolf, should know that people weren’t always rightfully imprisoned, and that people didn’t usually start out as criminals. It was just-... there was nothing an eleven year old could say to it all. 

“Ah, here we are.” Dumbledore had stopped in front of an old looking classroom. He knocked and then pulled the door open, entering as if he was stepping into a good friend’s home. “Good evening, Ms. Granger.” 

Harry peeked inside, finding a flustered Granger standing next to a dusty old mirror. It looked like it had previously been covered, but the covers had been pulled aside to reveal it. Everything in the room was dusty, the benches having been piled upon one another in the corner of the room. The air in the room was heavy with dust and the light was dim. 

“I… I was just…” Granger flushed red, as she glanced at the mirror and then at the Headmaster. “I haven’t done anything bad.” She tried again, but she didn’t sound the least convinced. 

“You have not broken any rules, Ms. Granger. Be at ease.” The old wizard walked up to the mirror, followed by Harry. He stopped in front of it, glancing into its surface and then sighed deeply. His aged hand reached out and placed itself upon the glass, as if he wanted to reach inside the mirror and grab something. There was a sadness in his eyes that seemed too pained to have been reflected in the eyes of a human. It was a sadness of very different quality from what Harry had ever seen. 

Professor Dumbledore was silent for a while, staring into the mirror before he looked back to Granger. “This mirror doesn’t show your face, but a reflection of what your heart desires most dearly. It is a dangerous thing, many mages have wasted away in front of it.” 

At this point, Harry was afraid to look into the mirror, and tried his best to not look into it but at his feet instead. He had ended up on the left side of Dumbledore’s, while Granger stood to his right. 

“My heart’s… Desire?” She looked like she was about to start crying, as she glanced into the reflection of whatever it was that the mirror showed her. 

“Yes.” Dumbledore looked as well, and now Harry couldn’t help but want to know what he would see if he looked. Still, he didn’t dare to. 

“...I see myself.” The girl whispered. “I see myself as a woman. A successful woman. I have… achieved things. People recognise me for what I have done, I… I’m more than just...this.” She gestured towards herself, looking ashamed as she did, looking as if she was shameful. 

The Headmaster turned towards her, and gently smiled at her. “Ms. Granger, you do not need the mirror. Whatever it is you see in there, that you believe yourself unable to achieve or be, are all things which will come. You will grow up to become that successful woman, the only way you won’t is by allowing yourself to waste away here.” 

She hiccuped in return, and hid her face in her hands as she began crying. Harry wasn’t entirely certain if she cried because she was relieved or if there was some other reason behind her tears, but it was clear that she seemed to need it. 

He glanced up at the old man, who was now looking at him. “...What is it you see, Professor?” Harry asked. He hadn’t thought about asking, but when he found those ancient eyes look down upon him, he did without thinking beforehand. 

The wizard raised and amused eyebrow and then glanced back at the reflection which only he could see. “...I see a man I loved. I see a person I treasured so very deeply, who I believed in with all my being. He made so many mistakes, no, they are far too grave to be dismissed as mistakes. I see myself changing him back, influencing him in a positive way, in a way which made him not... become the man he became.” He closed his eyes, reaching for something around his neck, but there was nothing there and he opened his eyes again. “I see him by my side now, we have both grown old together, and we are together.” He shook his head, trying to remove the desire with the gesture. His eyes turned to Harry once more, and he gestured towards the mirror. “What do you see, Mr. Lupin?” There was a sense of purpose in the words, and Harry wondered if the Professor had brought him there being genuinely interested in what he would see in the mirror. It seemed sort of far fetched and complex to an eleven year old that the man would actually have had such intentions though. 

Harry hesitated, but it seemed like it was safe enough to just look. After all, he was rather certain that his deepest desire was already within him, having it realised for what it was would only make it a realisation. It wouldn’t change how much he wanted it in the first place. 

He took a deep breath and then looked. 

At first, he saw nothing, but then there was an owl coming towards him from somewhere deep within the world of the mirror. Harry blinked and leaned closer, looking at the envelope which the owl carried. He realised that it bore the Ministry’s seal. The sight switched to a letter, and Harry began reading out loud. “Dear Mr. Lupin… Your application for your change of name has been approved. From here on forth, you will be recognised as Mr. Harry Lupin, Remus Lupin’s son.” As Harry was eleven, he didn’t actually know what would appear in the letter if his legal name was changed and Potter removed. The mirror manifested his desire into something which his young mind would understand as the fulfillment of his desire to have the name officially approved. 

Harry sighed and turned away from the mirror. “As if that is going to happen.” He mumbled, shaking his head. Despite his dismissal of the view, he couldn’t deny that it had made his heart beat faster with excitement over the idea that he could get what he wanted. 

“It is not impossible, Mr. Lupin.” The Headmaster smiled at him. “You have an entire life in front of you, when you are a legal adult, there will be many things that the Ministry can’t outright deny you. Do not give up hope, your identity will be recognised one day, as will Ms. Granger’s.” He put his hands on both of their shoulders, and turned the two children around, beginning to walk them out the room. “The mirror will be removed from here.” As he spoke, the cover fell back in front of it, hiding it from the world. “It is far too dangerous to keep around, I am sorry that you had to experienced being ensnared by it, Ms. Granger.” 

The girl sniffed in return, she was no longer crying but her face was still wet with emotions. Harry recalled something as he saw her expression, and began digging around in his pocket to produced a bar of chocolate. He handed it to her with a big smile. “Here, Happy late Holidays.” 

She looked bewildered as she accepted it. “T-thank you… I didn’t get you anything though, I didn’t think that…”

Harry shook his head. “It’s fine. My dad always says that eating chocolate makes you feel happier, it’s a cure against anxiety.” He promised. 

She looked uncertain but opened the bar and took a small bite. It seemed as if her face got a little color back as she did, and she quickly took another bite, smiling weakly at Harry. “Thank you… Merry late Chri- uh, I mean, Happy Holidays.”

He returned her smile and as he did, he pondered over what her desire had meant. It was easy to see that a girl of her intellect had a hard time fitting in with people her own age. One need only look at the way Weasley was treating her to know that she had a hard time. Still, her achievements must look simple to the rest of the world, being a clever eleven year old didn’t actually mean much as a whole. Harry assumed her to want to grow up quickly and be recognised for what she had accomplished, rather than be seen as a little girl who thought she always knew best. 

“Do you want to study together in the library tomorrow? There are some things I’m not entirely understanding about the Transfiguration class, and I’d like some help.” They were walking down a hallway now, the headmaster having fallen behind them, allowing the two children to speak. 

Her face seemed to lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. “I’d like that a lot.” 

Harry smiled back, but his expression turned slightly more serious as he remembered the way people were constantly accusing the boys around her to be in love with her. “About other people though, I am sure that they will claim that we are in love and things like that. While I think that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of being in love with you, I’m not actually interested in anyone right now. So whatever they say to try and make you feel bad for being around me, know that I’m not ashamed to be your friend, and I don’t care whatever Weasley tries to say to make fun of our friendship.” 

She looked like she was about to cry again, but stopped herself by taking a big bite out of her chocolate bar. In doing so, she nearly choked while she also got chocolate on her cheek. “Thank you.” She responded when she had stopped coughing. 

“I’m sure Neville feels the same, and we’ll be your friends even if other people try to make fun of it.” Harry assured her. 

“Then… I will be your friend, no matter what people say about you.” She told him, staring into his eyes with fierce determination. “I’ll also apologise to Neville for neglecting him…” She added, sounding a little embarrassed about her own actions. 

“I’m sure that he will understand.” Harry encouraged her, nodding as he did.

“This is my stop.” The old wizard suddenly spoke up, reminding them that he was there. He nodded to them both in turn. “Good night Ms. Granger. Good night Mr. Lupin.” 

“Good night Professor!” Both of them responded as one as Dumbledore wandered up a set of stairs and then stepped into a painting, disappearing from view. 

Harry was struck with a strange feeling that Dumbledore might have been an illusion all along, but he quickly understood that that wasn’t really possible. Despite everything the man did and seemed to be, his words had been very human. Especially his desire to help and be with a past friend and partner of his. Harry could imagine that many people found themselves wishing that they had been able to change a person for the better rather than watch them go and destroy themselves with bad ideas. Perhaps, under all that old wizardness, the man might just be human, and filled with emotions of different kinds. He thought of his father’s words about adults not outgrowing mistakes and emotions, but how they were simply forced to find ways to deal with them. Albus Dumbledore shouldn’t be an exception, not actually, no matter how influential he was and no matter how ancient and wise he seemed to the students. Harry couldn’t figure out why, it all seemed hard and complex, but there was a part of him which almost felt good knowing that Professor Dumbledore seemed as human as everyone else. 

Harry and Granger walked together for a while, chatting about _Hogwarts: A History_ , as Granger lead them back to the Great Hall. They stopped to discuss when to meet in the library, and then parted ways as she went looking for Neville. 

Harry headed back into the dungeons and to his common room. He found that Malfoy and Blaise were playing Wizard Chess without Crabbe and Goyle. When he asked where they were, Malfoy off handedly mentioned that they had gone to Hagrid’s hut to play with his dog Fang. 

“Apparently.” Malfoy ordered a piece to take one of Blaise’s pawns. “They discovered that he had this big, slobbery kind of old hunting dog, and they have been going to play with it ever since. School just started and they are already off playing with the gamekeeper rather than… do something more productive.” 

“Like getting beaten in Wizard Chess.” Blaise waved his finger and a piece moved accordingly. “Check.”

“You can probably go play with the dog too, Malfoy.” Harry sat down next to them, looking down at the board. 

The blonde boy’s cheeks heated as he turned away from Harry, fidgeting with his snake cufflinks. “I do not want to play with that type of dog.” He moved his king out of Blaise’s reach. 

“Check.” Blaise moved another piece. 

“Ugh!” Malfoy saw his defeat and leaned back in his chair, staring at Harry as if he was the reason for Blaise winning. “What did the Headmaster want with you?” 

The green eyed boy shrugged, opting to keep Granger’s secret about the mirror. “He just wanted to talk for a bit, but I really don’t feel any wiser after chatting with him. Other than that I’m rather sure that he is human, so that is something?” 

Malfoy seemed disappointed, he had clearly expected something more interesting. “What a discovery…” He reached out and pushed his own king over, signalling once and for all that he had given in. “What did you think he was?” 

“Maybe a centaur?” Harry joked, causing Malfoy to chuckle despite his foul mood. “Oh, and I will be studying with Granger tomorrow in the library, I ran into her and she was happy with some company.” 

“Aren’t you lucky?” Blaised smiled. For a second, it seemed as if he was about to joke about her and Harry being a couple, but instead, he continued “she is likely to be able to tell you whatever you might not know.”

“I’ll let you join us another time, I think she needs a little calm as to not be overwhelmed.” Harry suggested with a polite expression on his face. 

“Will you be alright alone with her? Weasley might appear again.” Malfoy looked bothered over the idea of Harry being alone, that is to say, without them. 

“He wouldn’t try anything in the library, would he?” The green eyed boy shook his head. “Can I play a game now? I still haven’t had the chance to best Malfoy and he is clearly off his game today.” 

“He’s all yours.” Blaise stood up and walked off, likely to get himself something to read from the dormitory. 

Harry took his place as Malfoy waved his wand to restore all the pieces into, well, pieces again, and not smashed up bits. As the mess was slowly restored into a game, Malfoy looked at Harry. He looked like he wanted to say something but every time he seemed to have made up his mind, he shut his mouth again. The game could soon begin and the two of them began playing. Harry’s mind became completely absorbed by the game, and he didn’t think about the mirror any more that day. 

When he went to bed, he thought of Granger, and hoped that she was able to sleep peacefully without the need to see that ideal version of herself once more. He hoped that she was able to simply sleep and forget the anxieties which plagued her. He’d definitely make sure that they had a fun study day the next day. She deserved it.


	13. Chapter 12 - In which Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle express their concerns about dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So… we arrived at Hagrid’s, and it was really rather hot.” Goyle began. 
> 
> “And then Hagrid pulled out this egg, it was really big, like this.” He showed with his hands, displaying a size that was not natural to anything harmless. 
> 
> “So from this egg…” Goyle glanced around himself and then leaned in to whisper. “Hatched a dragon.” 
> 
> “A dragon?” Malfoy bit back, looking both shocked and angry. “That is illegal, what in the world is that oaf thinking.”

Studying with Granger was really nice. She was pleasant company and she liked to share what she knew. The superiority complex which she had been accused of having was really just an eleven year old child having trouble formulating herself in a way which others perceived as humble. It was almost painfully clear to Harry that she never meant to talk down upon anyone, and her genuine satisfaction with having known the answer to a question was never about her gloating, whatever Weasley wanted to say. 

Time was passing, and despite Weasley and the rest of the Gryffindors acting like something was weird about Granger's and Harry’s friendship, the Slytherin students just accepted it. Malfoy tried to question it once, but he didn’t even managed to complete a sentence before he was hit with the 2000 words and three academic sources retort. Malfoy and Granger didn’t quite get along, there was a tension whenever they were together, which lead to Malfoy more often than not staying away when Harry spent time with her. Blaise was not a problem whatsoever, he very much enjoyed speaking with the girl, and they got along just fine. Most of the time, Harry, Blaise, Granger and Neville spent their time studying together in the library, with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle joining them every now and them. Mostly, it was just the four though. 

That was not to say that Harry spent all his time with Granger and Neville. For the most part, he was with Malfoy and his fellow Slytherins, and their relationship didn’t suffer in the least from his relationship with the two Gryffindors. The blonde boy carefully asked if Harry preferred to spend time with others over him, to which Harry had been very honest in that he liked spending time with all his friends for different reasons. He told Malfoy that he was a great friend of his, and that he was very happy to have him as a friend. It seemed to make the rather insecure boy very happy. It seemed that Malfoy was just that type of person who sometimes needed a reminder that he was treasured as a friend. Harry didn’t mind, as it hadn’t become a problem in any sense. 

Crabbe and Goyle tended to head out to be with Hagrid a lot. They had been helping him a little with his gamekeeper duty, and by now, they were Hagrid’s best friends and Fang’s biggest fans. Harry believed that it calmed the rather clumsy and big boys to be friends with an older man who was a lot like them, and who had clearly managed to become more than just a homeless school dropout wasting away in an alley. Not that Harry personally thought that they were any less intelligent, and he was trying his hardest to not make them feel left out or stupid. That is to say, Harry made sure to always act happy when they questioned something, and gave them the best answer he could manage. He and Blaise acted like it was the most natural thing to not understand something, and never made a big deal out of it. 

One day, they returned to the Slytherin common room with troubled looks on their faces. Their friends noticed right away, and they suspended their Wizard Chess tournament to ask what was wrong. After moving to their dormitory, the two big boys told them what had happened. 

“So… we arrived at Hagrid’s, and it was really rather hot.” Goyle began. 

“And then Hagrid pulled out this egg, it was really big, like this.” He showed with his hands, displaying a size that was not natural to anything harmless. 

“So from this egg…” Goyle glanced around himself and then leaned in to whisper. “Hatched a dragon.” 

“A dragon?” Malfoy bit back, looking both shocked and angry. “That is illegal, what in the world is that oaf thinking.” 

“Don’t call him an oaf.” Crabbe, Goyle and Harry spoke as one, causing the blonde boy to shut his mouth and look away. 

“But the weird thing is,” Goyle continued. “He has been talking about wanting a dragon for a really long time now, said it was his biggest wish…” 

“He tells us this whole story about how he was playing cards, and then a man just shows up and he just happens to have a dragon egg and bets it against Hagrid.” Crabbe was frowning now, looking honestly worried about Hagrid and the dragon. “Doesn’t that just seem way convenient? Dragons eggs are illegal, so he could have gotten arrested if he had pulled that out on somebody who didn’t want it.” 

Goyle nodded eagerly. “It sounded really strange, so we tried to ask what that stranger person was saying other than that. And they were really interested in Fluffy, so Hagrid told ‘em about him. And now the person knows that they can get past Fluffster if they play music for him. He falls asleep when you do, apparently.” He looked distressed. 

“Fluffster…” Malfoy was quickly hushed to silence. 

“You were talking about someone who might be trying to steal the...thing guarded by Fluffy. You and the Gryffindors were. So… We are really worried about Hagrid getting in trouble with the dragon, and we think that the whole thing is kind of weird. What should we do?” Crabbe looked just as distressed as his friend did. 

Harry, Blaise and Malfoy looked at one another. They had already explained about Fluffy, the trap door, and the Philosopher’s Stone to Blaise, so he did know what they were talking about. 

“Well… He can’t just have a dragon on the school grounds. Somebody will be hurt sooner or later, there is no taming dragons.” Malfoy huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as if to prepare for being told that the others didn’t agree with him. 

Blaise nodded. “If they notice it now, they might be more lenient with him, rather than when it burnt something down. We really should tell an adult and let them handle it rather than think about what we could do. We really don’t have the means or contacts to handle something like a dragon.” 

Harry nodded as well, agreeing with his friends. “There is only one option here, and that is speaking to Professor Dumbledore about it. I’m rather sure that if anyone would accept Hagrid’s mistake, it would be him.”

Goyle looked at him with a worried expression on his face, while Crabbe seemed doubtful. “What makes you so sure that he wouldn’t just fire him?”

Harry thought of his dad. He thought of the scared, scarred boy who had become a werewolf without a say in it, and who was feared by the world to the extent that he could hardly get a job even in these days when the Lycanthropy potion existed. He thought about Professor Dumbledore arranging for his father to stay in the Shrieking Shack back in the day, and plant a giant, highly dangerous tree for the sake of keeping his dad safe and from hurting people. Dumbledore had done everything a man could do for the sake of allowing Remus to attend Hogwarts. If anyone would forgive Hagrid for bringing a dragon onto the school grounds, it was him, or at least so Harry thought. Of course, he couldn’t actually tell the real reason as to why he trusted the man to his friends. “When I met Dumbledore, he talked a little about a person close to him who had made really grave mistakes, and how he had wanted to help him. I really do think that he would want to forgive Hagrid, rather than punish him.” 

The two big boys looked at one another, and then nodded. “Can we go right now? That little dragon is already spitting fire, it might be trying to burn his hut down as we speak.” Crabbe sounded very worried still. 

“It’s after curfew.” Goyle reminded them as he glanced at the clock. He clearly wanted to leave as well, judging by the way he was sitting by the edge of his seat. 

They all looked at one another, until Blaise raised his hands in a gesture of defiance. “I am not risking my neck for anything like this. I won’t stop you if you leave, but I really do think it might be better to deal with this whole thing tomorrow.” 

Crabbe more or less whimpered, looking at Harry. “Can we go still? Hagrid is a little more important than House points.” 

How as he supposed to deny someone who made such a good point. Not a lot of the other children knew that House points didn’t matter. Harry nodded, slowly but with purpose. “I think you are right, if somebody else realised about the dragon, we don’t know what will happen. If it spreads to the students, it will spread to the parents as well. They might be the one to push for Hagrid to be fired.” 

Crabbe and Goyle stood up as one, and Harry got to his feet as well. To his great surprise, Malfoy stood up with them, with a nervous look on his face. “I will… come with you, but if we get into trouble, I will blame it all on you.” He looked at the other three before quickly looking to the side once more. 

“I haven’t gotten caught yet.” Harry smiled at him, shrugging. “Maybe my streak will continue this time too?” 

It didn’t. 

The group of Slytherin students hardly made it to the Great Hall before Filch appeared before them, blocking their path completely. His bright light caught them, and every boy froze like a deer. They hadn’t heard him coming, and there was nowhere to run or hide in the middle of the staircase. There was nothing they could do but accept that they hadn’t managed to make it anywhere. 

“I got you now!” The raspy voice was triumphant, it almost seemed like he was about to throw the lantern at them with how he was almost dancing in victory. “You stupid children, wandering around when you aren’t allowed to. The school tell you no, but you think you are better than that!” He was going on some kind of mad rant, the insanity gleaming in his eyes as he cheered for his victory. It was all the students could to to stand there and watch him as he talked. “Oh, you will be punished for this, come now, I will take you to someone who will decide your fate.” 

They could do little else but come with him, and hope that they could speak sense into whoever he was taking them to. Harry had hoped that he would bring them straight to Professor Snape, who they might be able to convince that they needed to see Professor Dumbledore. However, the unpleasant man brought them somewhere different, namely to Professor Quirrell's office. He knocked on the door with that mad look of triumph. 

When the door was opened, Filch pushed them all inside in front of him, forcing the Professor inside to quickly step to the side. “Another group of foolish children, breaking the rules!” The man almost sang. 

Harry and Malfoy were at the front of their group, so they were forced to enter first. As soon as the door had opened and the heavy scent of garlic seeped out, Harry had begun to feel dizzy, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of actually standing inside the room. His vision went blurry for a little bit as his head throbbed, it took him a few moments to notice that they weren’t the only students in the Professor’s office. In front of them stood Weasley and Neville, the latter looked like he might begin to cry at any time, but he seemed somewhat happier to see Harry.

“M-my… yes, this isn’t acceptable. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Mr. Filch.” There seemed to be something different with the man, he still had a very fidgety body language, but it seemed more controlled. His voice was also steadier than Harry had ever heard it. “I suppose… I s-suppose you will have to be punished. Yes, t-that is the only way.” He looked over the Slytherin students, he purposely seemed to avoid looking at Harry as he did. 

Quirrell began to wander in the room, it was all the children could do to watch him as he did. They exchanged looks between themselves, until Malfoy spoke up. 

“Professor, I’m afraid that there has been a misunderstanding here. While it is true that we did leave our common room after the curfew, we only did so because it is of utmost importance that we speak with the Headmaster.” As Draco spoke he sounded very mature for his age, as if his manners had been well practiced. Harry, whose head still hurt incredibly, felt very thankful for having him there, in that instant. However, the result was surprisingly strange and disappointing.

What followed was very peculiar, Quirrell spun around towards the blonde boy, like a hawk swooping down upon a mouse. He suddenly seemed a lot larger as he loomed over the eleven year old. “Silence, Malfoy!” He more or less screamed, causing the boy to take a step back in horror. The way he shouted his name made it sound like he was trying to hex the boy, as if his name could become a weapon with which to cut Malfoy with, if Quirrell only managed to say it with enough force. 

Everyone stared, even Filch looked uncertain as to what was going on. The Professor seemed to realise and pulled himself back again, continuing to pace. “There really is only one option. One option i-i-indeed.” He reasoned to himself, as he did, Harry’s forehead throbbed. “Ten points from Slytherin for every student in this office. Ten off for Gryffindor for both boys from Gryffindor.” He spun back towards them, a strange look in his eye. “And detention for all six of you. I b-believe Hagrid needed help with something, I shall talk to him a-about it. Tomorrow.” 

The Slytherins exchanged frightened looks between themselves, and Malfoy took it upon himself to once more try and reason with the man. “It is only thirty minutes past curfew, and we still need to speak with the Headmaster. Mr. Filch can follow us there to make certain that we only go there and then straight back again, but it really is important.” 

Quirrell looked at the blonde boy with a strange expression, one which Harry found to be far from pleasing but couldn’t quite comprehend as to why it unsettled him so. “Of course. As silver tongued as your father, aren’t you? Trying to cheat your way into a compromise which only suits you, aren’t you?” He stepped closer as he spoke, and Malfoy took a step closer to Harry. “Why don’t you tell us, silver tongue, why it is that you so badly need to see the Headmaster, why you cannot trust a teacher with this information?” 

Malfoy opened his mouth and then shut it again, looking over at Crabbe and Goyle who both had become very pale. The blonde boy lowered his head, clearly not able to give a satisfactory answer. 

“Well then… Fifty points from Slytherin.” Professor Quirrell spoke, causing all Slytherin students to stare at him in horror. Malfoy looked like he ground had been pulled away from underneath him, and he stared with such disbelief and fear that it was hard to even look at him. He had never imagined that he would lose that many points, least of all in one night. The blonde boy seemed to shrink in on himself, he seemed to become smaller, and Harry couldn’t stop the impulse to grab his hand. Malfoy flinched when he touched him, but when he realised that it was just Harry, he squeezed the hand back. “Speak once more, and I will have a hundred.” Quirrell hissed, as he turned around. “Now then-” whatever he was about to say was interrupted by another voice. 

“And what is the meaning of this?” 

Everyone spun around, finding Professor Snape standing in the door. He stared at Quirrell with such intensity that Harry was sure the man would melt from fear. The person who the children had just been stuck in a room with seemed to evaporate under Snape’s eyes, and he returned to being a fidgeting, easily frightened man. 

“S-s-severus… W-what are you… I thought y-your route was not h-here.” The Defense against the Dark Arts teacher more or less squeaked. 

Professor Snape looked over the group of children, his eyes lingering on Malfoy, before he turned back to the man once more. “I heard screaming. Of course I had to investigate the source as to what it was. I should have expected you.” Snape retorted, and Quirrell stuttered in response, not managing to say anything concrete. Thus, Professor Snape continued, “students. With me. Filch, take the Gryffindors back to their room, I will take my students back myself.” 

The Slytherins were more than happy to rush out of the room and come with the Head of their House. As soon as they left the garlic stinking office, Harry’s head began to clear, and he took a few deep breaths. Malfoy hadn’t let go of his hand yet, and Harry was thankful for the support, as he had an uncomfortable feeling that he might trip if he didn’t hold onto someone. 

“Professor?” Malfoy spoke up, glancing up at the back of Snape’s head. “We really need to speak with the Headmaster, something has happened and we are worried that if he doesn’t know, someone might get very badly hurt.” 

Snape didn’t turn as he answered. “And this has to be done right now? And you cannot confide in me what has happened?” He didn’t sound accusing, but he sounded somewhat unimpressed. 

“I’m afraid it has to be him, sir.” Malfoy continued. “We would want to express it to you, but there is a risk of this leaking to the student body if we entrust it to someone who isn’t the Headmaster, and… well… Someone might get fired because of it, if it isn’t told to Professor Dumbledore directly.” Harry was very impressed with the other boy, who had gotten so utterly ridiculed and insulted for the way he was speaking, but was still trying. He was still attempting to find a way to help Hagrid. 

Snape turned, looking into Malfoy’s eyes. The whole group stopped as the man and the child exchanged looks. Harry got the feeling that Professor Snape could read his friend’s mind, but he quickly rejected the idea. It seemed a little too much to think that of anyone. Then, slowly, the man sighed, shaking his head. 

“I understand. I will take you to the Headmaster’s office. This will be an exception, I’m sure you all understand that normally, I would take you all back to your dorm and have you never break the rules again.” Snape yielded. Maybe he really could read minds, what other reason could he have to listen to them when Malfoy wasn’t actually telling him the reason for their quest. It seemed absolutely impossible, but it still felt strange that Snape listened to them.

The Professor brought the four Slytherin students to Dumbledore's office, which proved to be hidden behind a statue of a stone gargoyle and a password. They all knew the rough location of his office, but none of them had ever imagined that they couldn’t just have knocked on a door and been allowed to meet the man. It was a rather hard blow to realise that they really had sneaked out for nothing, as there was no possible way to meet the Headmaster without the help of a teacher. 

The Potions Master spoke the password and stepped forward as the gargoyle began to spin, revealing that it was standing on top of a set of stairs. The boys got on the stairs as well, trying to not feel frightened as they were about to meet the most powerful wizard alive. 

The office was a circular room, filled with bookcases which hosted all kinds of books, trinkets, jars and the like. Everywhere in the room was something worth staring at, yet nothing really seemed to make sense if one stared at it for any longer amount of time. Malfoy seemed the least impressed with all the stuff, he was instead staring at a beautiful red bird, which was sitting in the back of the room. Its plumage looked like fire, the bright red mixed with yellow, with a few white feathers in the tail. It looked up, shaking its head, before tucking said head back under its wing and proceeded to snooze again. 

“It’s… a phoenix…” Malfoy mumbled. 

“That is correct, Mr. Malfoy.” The soft voice of the Headmaster’s seemed to fill the entirety of the room as he came walking down a set of stairs in the back of the office. When he approached them, it became clear that he was wearing his sleeping gowns, as he was dressed in a bright yellow and white set of robes with a matching cap. 

“His name is Fawkes.” 

“Good evening, Professor.” Snape spoke, causing all his students to repeat the greeting. 

“Good evening, Severus. Students.” The man smiled, walking over to his desk. “What do I owe the pleasure? Do you want some tea? I was just about to prepare some chamomile tea for a more pleasant sleep.” He picked a teapot out from somewhere behind a stack of paper, and then looked for his cup. 

Harry was the first one to speak. “We’re really sorry to bother you, Professor.” He said as Dumbledore waved his wand, and six cups materialised onto the desk. He picked one up and pushed it in the air, where it floated for a second and then hovered over to Snape, who reluctantly picked it and its saucer out of the air. “But it’s about Hagrid. He seems to have…” He stopped when he remembered that Professor Snape was there. 

“Speak, child.” The wizard urged him as four more of his cups came to hover in front of the students. They were clearly having tea, no matter what they thought about the subject. “Severus can be trusted.” 

Behind them, Snape sipped his tea. Harry hadn’t seen anything in the cup as it had passed him, but it was clear that it was filled with something, as Snape was clearly drinking. Next to him, Malfoy grabbed the cup, and it filled with a greenish liquid which smelled pleasantly of lime and honey. Crabbe grabbed his, and it became filled with cocoa. Goyle’s filled with some sort of fruit drink, judging by its paleness and the scent of fruit which came from it. Harry reached out for his and watched as it became filled with cocoa. It smelled very familiar, and he was overcome with the feeling that it would taste just like it did when Remus made him cocoa at home. 

“...Hagrid has a dragon!” Goyle suddenly spoke up. “We were there when it hatched. He has named it Norbert and he says that he will raise it. He isn’t a bad person, and you shouldn’t fire him, but that dragon is not supposed to be here at Hogwarts!” He blabbered on, telling the Headmaster everything. 

Crabbe nodded. “Please don’t fire him, he was drunk when he got it and he is probably just not thinking of how dangerous it is to normal mages.” 

“We came to you so that nobody else would know about the dragon.” Harry continued. “If a teacher found out, or a student, it might spread to the parents and… Other than that… uhm…” He couldn’t bring himself to speak about Fluffy. 

“The dog on the forbidden floor, the one called Fluffy, Hagrid seems to have told a stranger how to get past the dog in exchange for that dragon egg.” Malfoy summarised, crossing his arms over his chest, somehow managing to do that without spilling his tea. 

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow, although he didn’t look angry, more amused. “And how do you know about the dog on the forbidden floor? I believe I have explicitly forbidden students from setting foot on it.” 

Malfoy didn’t miss a heartbeat. “Hagrid told us about it, he even had a photography of the dog in question.” 

Professor Dumbledore nodded, leaning his head to the side with an amused look in his eyes. If he knew that Malfoy was lying, there was nothing on his face which showed it. Well he wasn’t lying per say, it was how Malfoy was first introduced to Fluffy. At this point, Harry felt more than a little stressed, so he lift his cup to his lips and drank. He had expected to cocoa to be good, but it was more than that. It tasted just like how his dad made it, and the nostalgia and familiarity hit him like a shock. He stared at the drink, took another sip, and then looked to Dumbledore, who seemed more than a little amused by the look on Harry’s face. Whatever remained of the headache he had gotten from Quirrell’s office was blown away by the taste of the cocoa. 

“So you wanted to see me to ask that Hagrid’s dragon is taken care of without any harm coming to the man?” The old wizard spoke, looking over them all. They nodded. “Very admirable of you. 10 points to Slytherin, for Mr. Goyle who spoke up first and honestly about the situation.” Goyle looked like he was about to faint from surprise, his expression one of utter disbelief. He had never dreamed that he could actually gain any points to his House. “Nonetheless, you have sneaked out of your room to be here, and that behavior shouldn’t be encouraged.” 

“Headmaster.” The Head of the Slytherin House spoke up. “They have already been issued detention for their actions.”

Professor Dumbledore stopped to think, before he looked them all over once more. “I believe detention to be a rather harsh punishment, as the four of you were clearly trying to do the right thing. However, by removing the punishment, further explanation would have to be given to the people who issued it. With the intention to protect Hagrid’s secret, and make certain he does not end up in trouble with the parents of the students, I ask that you accept your detention. If you do, you will ensure that Hagrid will be safe.” The Slytherin boys looked at one another, each with an uncertain and hesitant look on their faces. “As I am asking a lot of you, I will personally ensure that your parents aren’t informed about your detention. And I apologise for asking you to do this.” 

“I’ll accept detention.” Crabbe was the one to speak up first. “It’s just one time, right? It’s worth it if Hagrid is safe.” Goyle nodded, he clearly agreed. 

Harry sipped some more cocoa, and then nodded. “Alright, detention it is.” He sighed. 

The three of them looked to Malfoy, who seemed more than unwilling to accept the punishment based on a man who he didn’t even like. He bit his lower lip, but then groaned and nodded. “As long as my parents do not get to know about it…” 

The Headmaster rose to his feet, and clapped his hands, as if to announce that the issue had been solved. “Well then. I have a lot of things to deal with, and some dragon keepers to call for. You should be heading back to your dormitory and sleep. I’m afraid I will be very busy for a little while now, but place your cups wherever and they will be dealt with later.” 

They were rather swiftly removed from the office, and taken back to their common room by Professor Snape. As they walked, Harry grabbed Malfoy’s hand again, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you.” He whispered, causing his friend to huff and look to the side. 

“It’s just detention, how horrible could it be?” He questioned, looking forward with an intense determination which made it clear that he wasn’t able to face Harry at that moment. 

Blaise sat up on his bed when they returned, looking over their dejected faces and concluded that they had been caught. They confessed to having gotten detention, and he sighed and laid back down, picking his book back up. 

“I clearly made the right choice in not coming with you. Good for you that you managed to save Hagrid though. When is your detention?” 

“Tomorrow, probably?” Harry let himself fall down onto his bed, landing onto his pillow with a groan. “Professor Dumbledore said that he wouldn’t tell our parents, but I’ll tell my dad personally in a letter. I don’t want to deceive him about things like this.” 

“Aren’t you a good son?” Malfoy whimpered into his own pillow. “Detention… I am not telling my father…” 

“It’s for Hagrid’s sake.” Crabbe might have spoken to Malfoy, but he might also have spoken to himself. 

“I’m just going to sleep. Maybe this is just a bad dream and I will wake up to everything being normal.” Malfoy continued to whine. 

“Good night.” Harry encouraged him. 

“Good night.” The blonde boy responded, disappearing under the blankets with a weak noise of displeasure.


	14. Chapter 13 - In which Fang supports Draco Malfoy during detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We are not having detention in the Forbidden Forest!” Malfoy complained loudly, staring into the dark of the forest with a look close to terror. 
> 
> “Do you have even the slightest idea over how dangerous that is? It is in the middle of the night as well, we won’t be able to see anything whatsoever. Oh, and we are eleven! Eleven! Not even close to being legal adults yet, and your plan is to have us go into the Forbidden Forest? Are you mad?” 

“We are not having detention in the Forbidden Forest!” Malfoy complained loudly, staring into the dark of the forest with a look close to terror. 

The four of them had been called to the Great Hall at eleven, which was already an odd time for detention as it was way past their bed time, and were then taken to Hagrid’s hut out on the school grounds. Filch had walked them out there, all the while ranting about how the punishment was far too lenient, and continued to whine about wanting to hang the students up by their ankles and practically torture them. Harry couldn’t help but wonder just how this man still had a job, with the way he seemed to hate the students with such passion. 

Hagrid had stepped out of his hut, fully dressed and armed with a crossbow. He had begun telling them about how they were about to head out into the Forbidden Forest when Malfoy had rudely interrupted him. 

“Do you have even the slightest idea over how dangerous that is? It is in the middle of the night as well, we won’t be able to see anything whatsoever. Oh, and we are eleven! Eleven! Not even close to being legal adults yet, and your plan is to have us go into the Forbidden Forest? Are you mad?” 

Filch looked like he wanted to hit Malfoy, so Harry carefully stepped in and grabbed his arm, stopping the boy’s borderline hysterical rant. 

“Is there no other detention you can give us, Hagrid? This really doesn’t seem safe.” Harry looked up at the half giant, who shook his head. 

“You don’t have to worry, Harry. You will be with me.” He patted his crossbow, which did nothing to reassure anyone. 

Harry, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Neville and Weasley stared at the half giant, none of them looking the least bit certain that they trusted his judgement or leadership. Weasley and Neville were standing a bit away from them, with the former looking ready to try and hex Malfoy as well. According to Neville, the redhead had accepted another duelling challenge from somebody in the Slytherin first year, and had forced him out as his second. Now they were in this whole mess together, and Neville had no choice but to simply resign himself to what was about to come. 

“That really isn’t enough, we aren’t that capable spell casters yet, if something gets to us, we might not be able to defend ourselves!” Malfoy was once more the voice of reason. He should have been listened to, but none of the adults cared for his points. 

“Oh please!” Weasley suddenly barked at him. “Stop whining. What are you even scared of in the bloody forest?” 

Malfoy turned towards him. “T-there are… werewolves in there!” He countered, sounding more than a little desperate and frightened. Harry felt like somebody had thrown cold water over him, and he felt his already less than pleasant mood turn sour. He glared at Malfoy, and then turned away from him. Logically, he knew that the boy had every right to fear werewolves, but it made him feel so very angry to think that the worst thing Malfoy could possibly think of which might be hiding in the forest was werewolves. 

“It’s not even a full moon.” Harry couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Let’s just get this done with so that we may return quicker, what is it that we’re supposed to do?” He should have known better than than to let his disappointment get the better of him, but he didn’t feel like defending or agreeing with Malfoy if he was really that against werewolves. Malfoy noticed the change, but he didn’t quite understand for what reason Harry was suddenly avoiding his eyes. 

Hagrid cleared his throat, and pointed towards the forest. “So what we are about to do here is head out and search for a wounded unicorn. I have found unicorn blood around the edge of the forest, we will be following the trail of that blood and search for it.” He explained. 

“But-” Malfoy tried once again to be the voice of reason, but Harry interrupted. 

“Alright, let’s go.” He joined the big man’s side, not looking back at Malfoy as he did. 

“We’ll divide into three teams.” Hagrid decided. “Vince and Greg with me. Weasley and Longbottom, and Lupin and Malfoy. Try to not get to far from one another and stay on the tracks for the most part. If you are in trouble, send up red sparks with your wands.” 

“Then I demand that Fang comes with us!” Malfoy forcefully spoke up. He had understood that his reasonable demands weren’t getting him anywhere, and had surrendered to the idea of going into the forest. 

“Take him if you want, but he is a real coward.” Hagrid shrugged and began walking. 

“He’s not for protection…” Malfoy mumbled before he called for the dog to join him. Fang came and pushed his slobbering face against Malfoy’s leg to sniff him. “You’re a good dog, aren’t you? Yes you are.” He whispered to the old hunting dog, scratching his folds with a soft expression on his face which Harry had never seen him use before. 

The groups separated with Harry, Malfoy and Fang walking off together. Hagrid had been right about the unicorn blood, which they were able to identify due to the unique silvery nature of the blood. It lead into the forest, and they slowly began to venture into it, their wands raised high to light up the surroundings. Harry was still angry with his friend, so he kept his eyes forward and tried not to speak, mostly out of fear that he might say something hurtful which he didn’t mean. 

Malfoy used Fang to measure if something seemed dangerous or not. He had judged that by what Hagrid had said, if the dog showed signs of being unsettled or upset, it was likely that they could be in danger. As long as Fang remained calm, so would the blonde boy. 

They walked for a while, and nothing happened. Malfoy would call Fang to himself every now and then so that he could pet him, but he was mostly silent. Harry walked first, but the deeper they ventured, the more uncomfortable he felt himself becoming. They had the trail of blood to lead them back again, but the forest had turned very quiet. Almost no light could reach in between the thick branches and dark leaves. The silence almost felt pressing, like it was a beast which might rouse if bothered. 

“Lupin?” Malfoy’s voice seemed to cut into the beast’s hide, causing Harry to quickly spin around to look at him. “Did I… do something to upset you?” There was a strange tone in his voice, one which Harry wasn’t used to hearing from him. Malfoy was staring at his feet, looking very small and frail with the giant trees surrounding him, and only the light from his wand to show that he was really there. Harry couldn’t see his face properly, but he was certain that he wouldn’t have liked it if he was able to see his expression. “I thought we agreed to be honest about what we felt so… are you mad with me?” 

Harry opened his mouth to answer but he realised that it was unfair to give a reply when the other was so comparatively far away. He slowly walked back to his friend, letting the light of their wands light up the other’s face. “I… did get mad, yes.” He confessed. 

“Was it because I didn’t want to do this?” Malfoy gestured towards the forest. “When I agreed to take detention for Hagrid’s sake, I wasn’t counting on the madman bringing us out into the Forbidden Forest. As I said, we’re minors, we have just begun to learn magic, Longbottom is practically a squib. We are the least qualified to join the gamekeeper on this venture.” He summarised. Harry knew that he was right in everything he was saying, and that everyone else were being unreasonable. 

“No, it wasn’t that.” The green eyed boy shook his head. “As you know, and have teased me for, I’ve read a lot about werewolves. It made me rather angry when you called them the scariest thing in the forest, because they can’t help it. Not to mention, it is a very ignorant statement to begin with. It’s not even a full moon, statements about werewolves being dangerous at all times is the kind of attitude which makes it so hard for them to even get jobs within mage society. They can barely live as it is, and they never asked to become werewolves.” 

Malfoy turned his words over in his head, before he came to nod slowly. “I didn’t really claim that they were the scariest thing I know though.” He pointed out. “But if it means so much to you, I will try and not say things like that anymore. After all, I am not especially invested in this subject, but I know I’d rather not meet a werewolf during a full moon.” 

Harry smirked at him. “I think the human part of the werewolf wouldn’t want to meet you during a full moon either. Most werewolves biggest fears seems to be to infect others, from what I’ve read.” 

“Is that satisfactory, then? Do you forgive me?” Malfoy inquired. 

Harry nodded in response. “I should have handled it better, do you forgive me?”

In response Malfoy carefully reached for Harry’s hand, which he took. “Yes.” 

They began walking again. Malfoy’s hand was sweaty, making it very clear just how stressed he was about the whole scenario. However he came to shake less and less the longer Harry held onto his hand. 

“The blood is… getting thicker and more frequent.” Harry noticed, lowering his wand to study the stains closer. “We… might be catching up to it.” He glanced back at Malfoy, who looked to Fang. The canine was sniffing in the air, seeming more restless than he did a few minutes again. The dog was glancing around, before lowering his head towards the ground. He was clearly alerted to something. 

“I don’t like this… Something is close.” Malfoy whispered, holding onto Harry’s hand tighter. 

“It might be the unicorn.” Harry tried to peer into the darkness, trying to spot something. “Send up the red sparks for Hagrid, it’s better to be safe than not.” 

Malfoy raised his wand and sent the sparks into the air. As he did, their surroundings were lit up and they saw that they were standing in a clearing. However, that was not all they saw in the red light of the sparks. Less than ten meters away laid the unicorn they had been tracing, the pearl white hide colored red by the sparks. Yet what really caught their eyes was the hooded, humanoid figure which was leaning over the body of the unicorn, pressing its face into a deep gash on the equine’s body. They could see the body move, as if it was greedily sucking in air. Harry realised with horror that the figure was drinking the unicorn’s blood. 

Malfoy suddenly screamed, his noise of terror echoing through the clearing. 

The figure stopped drinking, slowly raising its head. As it looked at Harry, he felt as his someone had stabbed him over the eye as a blinding headache suddenly erupted from the figure’s glare. Next to him, Malfoy tried to run, following Fang who had set off into the woods. Harry stumbled after him, but the pain in his head was so bad that he could barely move. 

“Lupin? Lupin! Move!” Malfoy yanked his arm, causing Harry to stumble after him. The pain was making him blind as he tried his best to follow his friend. 

In the other end of the clearing, the figure had crawled over the unicorn and was approaching them, looking more like it hovered than walked. Malfoy was forcing him forward, yelling and yanking at him, while Harry tried his best to follow him. The closer the figure came, the stronger the pain became. When it was almost upon them, Harry tripped, falling over Malfoy and sent them both to the ground. Malfoy screamed again, he screamed for Fang, for Hagrid, for his father. All while the figure came closer and closer and Malfoy struggled to get them to their feet again. The figure reached out towards them, and the blonde boy let go of Harry’s arm, as if he was about to leave him and run. 

There was a loud noise, causing the hooded creature to turn towards it. Out of the woods came a body which Harry could only register as that of a huge dog. There was the sound of hooves, Malfoy screamed again, as did the hooded creature. A great many sounds filled the clearing, those hooves continued to thunder against the ground, causing Harry to groan in pain. 

Then, all of a sudden, the pain in his head lessened, and he was able to see again. His glasses had become dirty as he had hit the ground, and he had tears in his eyes from pain. Malfoy was sitting next to him, shaking like a leaf in the wind. He was very much crying as well, but he didn’t seem hurt in the least. Harry sat up slowly, turning around to find that the giant dog had been the body of a horse, not a dog’s. He quickly understood what he was looking at as he was addressed by the upper body of a man. 

The centaur spoke, its voice sounding like a distant song from lands long forgotten. It was a voice so strangely wise that it was almost hard to understand what he was saying. “The woods aren’t safe for humans on the best of days, tonight is a night where it is safe for none. Do you find yourselves unharmed, children of magic?” He held out a hand, bending forward to help Harry and Malfoy to their feet. Malfoy hiccuped as thanks. 

“Thank you.” Harry bowed before the centaur, as he had learnt from his father that they were proud, intelligent creatures who should be treated with politeness and humbleness. While being intelligent, they were also prone to be violent when the had reasons to believe that their borders had been breached. He pushed Malfoy with his foot so that the other boy bowed as well. “What… was that?” Harry gestured after the hooded figure. 

“That is a dark power in the shape of a person. A parasitic being. It is but almost dead, and it seeks the blood of the innocent to prolong its life.” The centaur’s voice sang on, all he said sounded strangely poetic. If the centaur had told him that the sky was not blue, Harry would have believed him without checking. “Unicorn blood is very magical, it will keep someone alive, even if they are seconds from death. However, the payment for the blood is great, the drinker will not have a whole life, they will be stuck with a half a life, for killing something so pure.” It was easy to tell that the centaur was sad about the loss of an innocent being’s life, when it glanced at the body, there was a deep sadness in his eyes. 

“My name is Firenze, I read the stars in search of the future. I have seen you coming here, and I regret being late.” The centaur carefully bowed his head, seemingly in apology for his late arrival. 

“Thank you for coming to save us.” Harry replied honestly, and bowed back to the equine. 

“Child of magic, I implore you to think for yourself. Do you know any creature so evil that it would willingly harm an innocent for the sake of living?” Firenze suddenly changed the topic, a serious look spreading over his face. 

“I…” Harry glanced back at Malfoy, who was staring off where the hooded figure had disappeared. He knew the answer, he had grown up hearing about the man who was supposedly the most frightening Dark Wizard there had ever been. The wizard who had killed his birth parents, and sent the Wizarding World into an era of terror, blood and inequality. People had claimed him to be dead, but Remus had always been honest with Harry that there was a possibility that he might return. There was no telling when, there was no telling how, but an evil that powerful simply didn’t vanish, no matter how much the Ministry wanted to pretend that it did. Remus had also often spoken about how the Dark Lord might never return, but that it didn’t make his followers any less dangerous. No matter if the instigator was gone, there was no killing an idea. 

“Lord… Voldemort?” The green eyed child’s voice broke as he spoke the name of his birth parents’ murder. Next to him, Malfoy winced as if the name hurt him. 

The centaur nodded, he seemed like he was about to say something else, but Hagrid’s loud voice interrupted him. “Lupin! Malfoy!” He shouted, coming running through the woods which such heavy steps that it almost seemed like the ground was shaking. Behind him came Fang, Crabbe. Goyle, Neville and Weasley, all of who tried their very best to keep up with Hagrid. He spotted the centaur and stopped running, breathing out in relief. “Firenze… Thank the Elder Dragon, what happened here.” 

“Hagrid.” The centaur’s tail moved behind it in recognition as he happily trotted over to the man. Hagrid was large enough that the two of them were of the same height. The centaur leaned in to kiss the man on both cheeks in a greeting. Hagrid seemed very flustered but also happy by the gesture. “Child of magic and child of giants, your big heart brings you great pride, but you should not have brought children into the woods upon this night. My humble friend, take them out of here, your quest is already lost.” 

Hagrid frowned sadly as the centaur lectured him. “We haven’t found the unicorn yet. It might still be out there.” 

Firenze turned to gesture, guiding Hagrid’s eyes to the fallen unicorn’s body. “The child of innocence shall not run in these woods again. Me and my people shall give her a burial worthy of her essence, you are welcome to participate, Hagrid.” 

“I’d be humbled.” The big man’s eyes were teary with emotion. He might be mourning the unicorn or cursing his inability to help her. He might also be touched to have been invited to attend such an event. 

“Now, please return these children to the safety of Hogwarts.” Firenze urged once more, causing the gamekeeper to finally sigh in resignation. 

“I’ll do that.” Hagrid turned around and waved his hand, causing everyone to gather with hesitant looks on their faces. Harry, who had felt surprisingly awake due to the adrenaline rush suddenly felt as if his very bones were aching with pain. He was glad that Malfoy was holding on to him, as he felt like he would surely fall over without him. 

“Everyone.” Hagrid spoke. “We have found the unicorn. You have all completed your detention, now I’m going to take you back. The way is this way, you all walk in front of me.” The explanation was a little lacking, but the boys understood what the man asked them to do. Crabbe and Goyle were the first one to start walking, and the rest soon followed. Harry glanced behind himself, back at the centaur who nodded at him. The boy nodded back, he didn’t turn again. It felt a lot safer to turn his back towards the forest when Hagrid was between him and anything who might want to get to them. 

Harry wasn’t sure if he had ever felt this relieved to be back in the Slytherin dormitories. He let himself fall onto his bed, hugging the pillow tightly. Blaise was sitting on his own bed, he was clearly newly awake, and his otherwise perfect hair was somewhat out of order. Still, being sleepy didn’t mean that he was ignorant, and he quickly noticed that his friends seemed more than a little deterred. 

“What happened…?” He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he spoke. Having noticed that Harry and Malfoy seemed the worst off, he got up and walked over to sit on Harry’s bed, where the pillow was promptly exchanged for Blaise instead. 

“The unicorn was already dead.” Crabbe spoke with a thick voice as he sat down on his bed heavily. He began removing his shoes, not looking at anyone as he did. 

“What unicorn?” Blaise looked to Malfoy for answers. 

The blonde boy summarised what they had been tasked with, but stopped when he got to what happened to him and Harry in the forest. “Something… attacked us. It was a hooded figure, and then we were saved by a centaur. As soon as that figure looking at Harry, something happened to him, but I don’t know what. He just wouldn’t run…” Harry could feel his friends’ eyes on him, and he slowly resurfaced from pressing his nose into Blaise’s back. 

“I don’t know what happened either,” he confessed. “But all of a sudden, I had this horrible headache. It was as if my forehead had just… exploded. I couldn’t see anything, and it felt like my head was about to burst open. If Malfoy hadn’t tried to pull me with him, that… might have gotten to me.” The green eyed boy stopped, taking a deep breath. “The centaur, Firenze, told us that that figure in the woods was… The Dark Lord.” He used the man’s title, rather than his name. He did not do it out of fear, but because that was how his father referred to the man. The title was a respectful way of addressing Lord Voldemort, which also made certain to not underplay just how terrifying the man’s power had been. However, respecting the power and the fear behind the man was not the same as respecting the Dark Wizard for what he had done. 

“You mean he-who-must-not-be-mentioned?” Goyle stared at Harry, a look of fear twisting his face into a cruel, twisted mockery of his usual soft features. 

Harry nodded. “Yes. The centaur said so.” 

“That’s impossible.” Blaise crossed his arms over his chest. “He was killed years ago. The likelihood of him hanging around in the Forbidden Forest and just happened to come across Harry the one time he enters it is so small that it’s ridiculous.” 

Malfoy’s head suddenly snapped towards Blaise, as a look of understanding spread on his face. Blaise looked back at him, raising an eyebrow at him, as he expected the blonde boy to speak, but Malfoy didn’t. Instead, he shook his head, biting his lower lip. “I have to research something… But I might have realised something.” 

“Blaise is right though…” Goyle spoke up. “He was killed years ago, what would he be doing here?” 

“Maybe he wasn’t killed?” Harry suggested, sitting up a little as he looked over the faces of his friends. “He was that powerful after all, what is to say that he isn’t still alive, but very weakened?” His expression had become serious, and there was a certain air of maturity around him. 

Harry’s father had been a realistic man, and Remus had had contact with Albus Dumbledore throughout Harry’s life, even if the man had not been a figure present in that life. The two men had discussed the defeat of the Dark Lord and despite the werewolf’s hesitation, he had been forced to admit that it was not impossible that the Dark Wizard was not entirely dead. Even if the monster in the shape of a man had been killed, that did not mean that the political unrest he had caused would be solved, the risk was still high that people would seek to harm or kill Harry, who had become the icon of his defeat. When Harry became older, his dad had been honest about the Dark Lord, who he was, what he had done, and with tears in his eyes and fear in his voice, he had spoken of the possibility that Harry might be targeted in the future. It was not a task which any parent should have to communicate to their children, and no concept which a child should have to comprehend. Still, it had to be done for Harry’s sake. However hard it was to speak of, it would have been far worse for the boy to suddenly find himself targeted by the world without any understanding of why. 

Thus, the Harry who looked at his friends now was a boy who has long since learnt that life wouldn’t be fair. That his life might be threatened at any time. His expression was far too old for his young face, and it made his friends rather uncomfortable. 

“...But he can’t get into Hogwarts, can he?” Goyle spoke first, looking around with a nervous look. “He can’t come get Harry here? We have… Professor Dumbledore here and… all the teachers?” 

“If he really works alone, then it might be hard, yes.” Malfoy spoke up, he had been looking at Harry with a strange expression, one of confusion and insecurity. It seemed like there was something he wanted to say, but he seemed to be halting himself. 

“Do you… have any suspicions about who might be helping him, Malfoy?” Harry noticed his expression and spoke up, but his blonde friend just shook his head. 

“Not… not yet. I have to… check a few things first. I don’t have all my academic sources in order yet.” He tried to joke, but it was clear that he was stressed about whatever possible thought he had. 

Blaise licked his lips. “So you are thinking that the Dark Lord is trying to get inside Hogwarts so that he can access the Philosopher's Stone and thus be revived with the Elixir of Life?”

“That would be it what makes the logical most sense, right?” Harry nodded. “A lot of people would want that stone, but few people but him would be so foolish as to actually try. Only someone truly desperate would try and break into Hogwarts for the possible sake of immortality, and if he is desperate enough to drink the blood of unicorns, giving him a half life, he surely must be desperate.” 

“Why would he be so sure that the stone is actually here though?” Crabbe frowned at the green eyed boy, trying very hard to follow the conversation. 

“Remember that break in at Gringotts last year?” 

“No.” Goyle responded as Crabbe shook his head. 

“It was really big news…” Blaise agreed. 

“Who else but him could possibly pull off a break in like that? At Gringotts even?” Harry looked to Malfoy, who hesitantly nodded, agreeing with him. 

“If he is here, in the forest, he must at least be planning to try.” The blonde boy followed up with his friend’s reasoning. 

“Maybe he already tried once.” Judging by the look on Blaise’s face, he had had a realisation. “That could explain the troll at Halloween. He might have tried to break in when everyone was distracted.”

“And he didn’t manage to get past Fluffy, so he approached Hagrid and figured out the secret to how to put Fluffy to sleep in exchange for that dragon egg!” Crabbe’s voice was louder than it should have been. 

“Yeah… that makes sense.” Harry agreed, a grin spreading on his face. “You’re right.” 

“But this doesn’t have anything to do with us.” Blaise suddenly spoke up with much more force. “We are eleven, Harry might have defeated the Dark Lord when he was a child for whatever reason, but most of us are just children. We shouldn’t have to do anything about this, instead, we should speak to the teachers.” 

They all looked at him, and then between one another before Harry nodded. “You are right. This isn’t about us, and it isn’t about me. If a Dark Wizard is after something in the castle, we shouldn’t be the ones to take care of it.” 

The group of friends exchanged looks with one another, and nodded. 

“So what people are we speaking to? Professor Snape?” Goyle asked. “Maybe McGonagall?” He leaned his head to the side, frowning. 

“Wouldn’t it be better to go to the Headmaster himself?” Crabbe countered. “He helped us with Hagrid and the dragon, he would believe us, right?” 

“That might be our best choice.” Harry agreed. “I think we should do that as soon as possible.”

“You mean that we are not going tomorrow?” Crabbe sounded disappointed. 

“We’ll be far too sleepy to go tomorrow…” Malfoy signed, shaking his head. “And the exams starts next week, it might be really hard to get some of the Headmaster’s time at this point.”

“Then maybe we should talk to Snape instead?” Goyle asked. 

“...Let’s try tell Professor Snape what we know. If he doesn’t act, we will try to speak to the Headmaster. Somehow…” Harry added the last word, thinking about the password to the Headmaster’s office. He couldn’t even remember what it had been when he had heard it a few days ago. 

“So tomorrow or the day after, we’ll talk to Professor Snape?” Malfoy summarised. 

The rest of the boys nodded, except for Blaise. “Would you leave me out of this again? I understand that this is important and such, but it doesn’t have anything to do directly with me. Of course it would if he actually returned, but as it is now, this is just speculation, and I don’t want anything to do with it.” 

“That’s not a problem. We will leave you out of it.” Harry pushed his face into Blaise’s back, giving him another snuggle. “You’re so staying here though, I am really shaken after everything and I’ll sleep better with you here.” 

Blaise patted him on the head. “Yes, yes, just let me get my pillow and I’ll be back.” Harry reluctantly let him go. 

Soon enough, Blaise was back again, and silence fell over the room. The boys quickly fell asleep, and the room was soon filled with the sound of their snoring. Luckily, Harry’s dreams were blissfully empty. 


	15. Chapter 14 - In which Draco Malfoy uses 2000 words and 3 academic sources to prove his point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lupin.” Malfoy turned back to Harry, giving him a sharp look which told him that whatever Malfoy said next, Harry was supposed to agree. “I got the sources I spoke off. We have to go over this now or we will not be prepared for tomorrow.”

“Professor Snape, may we talk to you?” Harry approached the Potions Master after class, carefully requesting a moment of his time. He was followed by Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, while Blaise walked out the door, chatting with Theodore Nott. Despite their group not tending to spend a lot of time with Nott, he was a frequent third partner for Harry and Blaise to work with when the group projects required a three-people team. Nott was talking about locomotives, and the prospect of making one fly. 

Professor Snape closed his book, looking down at the children with a look of suspicion on his face. It wasn’t necessarily that he distrusted them on principle, but that he didn’t especially enjoy the idea of whatever could make them come to him for help. 

“Speak.” The man finally settled on listening to them. 

“It’s about the Philosopher’s Stone,” Harry began. 

Professor Snape’s eyes flickered from the boy’s face for a second, he seemed to tense up but then quickly returned to his normal stance. “I do not find it surprising that you of all people have put your nose where it shouldn’t be.” He snorted through his nose, shaking his head with clear disapproval. “Whatever is it about the Stone that you want to speak of?” 

“We have reason to believe that someone is trying to steal it. Probably soon, he might have already tried, when that troll came in here last Halloween. You think so too, don’t you Professor? You were hurt last year after checking on Fluffy, and he bit you.” Harry began to ramble. In response, Snape’s expression shifted slightly into less and less pleased for every word he uttered. 

“Whatever reason I had to believe what I believed, it is of no concern or importance to you.” The man snorted, placing his book down upon the desk so forcefully that the noise seemed to echo in the now empty classroom. “The Stone is protected, Lupin. You first year students have no reason to be concerned with it.” He crossed his arms over his chest, but didn’t appear defensive as much as he appeared annoyed with them. 

“Sir.” Harry carefully but forcefully spoke again. “When we had detention in the Forbidden Forest, me and Malfoy were attacked by a hooded figure. We were saved by a centaur, and he claimed the figure to have been the Dark Lord.” When he mentioned Lord Voldemort, Professor Snape’s fingers lightly brushed against his left arm as a concerned expression flashed over his face. “We believe that he might be trying to break into the school to try and access the forbidden floor.” The boys beside him nodded carefully. 

“Do you have any proof of this, other than the claims or a feral beasts in the woods?” The Potions Master spoke, demanding for more than just speculation. 

“We don’t have any concrete proof, Professor.” Malfoy carefully began speaking, even if he was clearly careful, he didn’t seem nervous or hesitant. “Yet there are far more coincidences here than we are comfortable with. We figured that the only accurate way to deal with the situation was to inform an adult of what we have discovered.” The silver tongued blonde boy made as much sense as he always did when he tried to charm someone into listening to him with his persuasive words. 

The Potions Professor was not the type of person to be easily charmed with words, but he seemed to find some manner of comfort in the direct admittance of their lack of proof in Malfoy’s words. “...Ten points to Slytherin. For thinking of seeking assistance rather than doing something rash. You do not need to worry about the Stone. Even without the protection, there is still the Headmaster to pass if one sought to enter the school. Not even the Dark Lord would be as foolish. You would do better to forget about it.” 

The first year students looked at one another, and then back up at their Professor. It was clear from their expressions that they weren’t calmed by the words, but they couldn’t quite argue with the man. 

“Now off. I have lessons to plan and I do not stand for dawdling.” Snape ordered them to leave, waving them off with a grand gesture. There was little they could do but to follow his order. 

A few days passed, and while they tried their best to listen to Professor Snape’s words and forget about the Stone, they all found it a complicated thing to do. A good distraction proved to be the final exams of the year, and Harry found himself studying with Granger and Neville in the library a lot. The exams would begin in a few days, and while Neville was nervous, he was also hopeful that he could pass since he got the help he needed from his fellow Gryffindor. The two of them had been able to ignore all the bullying which people had tried to push upon them, and by now, the calls and jeers had almost stopped completely. Ever since the troll incident, Granger and Neville had let nothing come between them. It made Harry very happy to know that the two of them had become so secure in their friendship that the bullying could no longer keep them apart. 

They were calmly discussing some matter or another about transfiguration when Harry felt his head throb with pain. Soon after, the scent of garlic hit him, alongside the sound of Quirrell’s voice. 

“Oh, children. P-p-pleasant to s-see you here. S-s-studying.” The man hummed out, smiling at them with a crooked kind of smile which became more unpleasant the longer one looked at it. 

“Good afternoon, Professor.” The students responded as one. 

“Mr. L-l-lupin… I have something I’d l-l-like to discuss with y-you.” The man tried to catch Harry’s gaze, but he was struggling with the familiar headache which came with the man and his garlic scent. 

“Right, Professor, what is it?” Harry tried to be polite, despite the throbbing in his head. 

“I-in my o-o-office.” He began wringing his hands, looking around as he spoke. “C-c-come with m-” 

“Lupin!” Malfoy’s loud voice interrupted the Professor as he stepped around a bookcase, carrying some heavy volumes of books in his arms. His hair was out of order. It was never out of order, thus Harry judged that he was likely stressed about something or about to go on a very passionate Quidditch ramble. He halted completely as he saw Quirrell, and gave him a look which Harry had never seen Malfoy give anyone. It was a complicated expression, but for all that it was, it was not a positive expression. Harry was half rosen from the chair, but he sat back again when he saw the look Malfoy gave him. 

“G-g-good day…” Quirrell stuttered out a greeting, which Malfoy responded to by politely nodding at him. 

“Lupin.” Malfoy turned back to Harry, giving him a sharp look which told him that whatever Malfoy said next, Harry was supposed to agree. “I got the sources I spoke off. We have to go over this now or we will not be prepared for tomorrow.” 

Harry nodded. “That’s great. I’m sorry, Professor, but I am currently rather busy, I will speak with you after your lesson on Wednesday, is that alright?” 

The Defense against the Dark Arts teacher all but pouted as he slowly began to scoot away from them. Malfoy put the books down with a loud noise and then followed the Professor with his eyes to make sure the man left the library. When he was done with that, he returned to the table and sat down, leaning in closer to whisper to the ones gathered. 

“It’s Quirrell.” He stated, with such urgency and purpose that his words felt almost physical. 

The three other people looked at him with expectant faces, but when he didn’t continue, Neville spoke up. “What is Quirrell?” 

Malfoy looked at Harry, who hesitated but then turned towards his Gryffindor friends. He began to explain to them what had happened in the forest, and what Professor Snape had said about the Philosopher's Stone. 

Granger looked very shocked as she learnt that they had not only got detention in the Forbidden Forest, but had been attacked by something which was very likely the Dark Lord. She looked like she very much wanted to object, or at least questioned, but she was cut off by Malfoy. 

“As Lupin said,” Malfoy spoke forcefully, demanding attention through force. “It is not very likely that a creature who has to live on unicorn blood would be powerful enough to break a troll into Hogwarts. Thus, he must have had a helper of some kind inside Hogwarts, I figured out who the person is.” He paused for effect. “Quirrell.” 

Granger looked at him with a look which clearly spoke of her skepticism. She managed to do that despite her face being pale with worry and discomfort. “You are rejecting that idea of it being Snape, but you think that the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is the one working with he-who-must-not-be-mentioned?” 

“That sounds a little far-fetched…” Neville agreed. 

Malfoy had a triumphant look on his face as he grabbed one of his books and flipped it open. Everyone leaned in to see what he was pointing at. “This, look at this.” He was pointing at a segment of the book, which was about trolls and the general handlings of them. “This is all written by Professor Quirrell. These are essentially the credentials which got him a teaching position Hogwarts. As you can see right here, it states that he is an expert at handling trolls and ogres of all kinds. The troll on Halloween could not have gotten inside through natural means, that makes him very suspicious.” 

“But didn’t he faint in fear when he told the school about the troll?” Neville frowned at him. 

“Indeed.” Malfoy nodded. “He somehow found the troll in the dungeons, where he had no business being whatsoever, and promptly passed out afterwards, causing a panic. This is a man who is supposed to be a troll expert, and his reaction to the whole event was to lose consciousness. As everyone evacuated the Great Hall, nobody thought to check on Quirrell where he laid. If he was faking it, he would have access to the forbidden floor after tricking everyone into the dungeons and the students back to their dorms. He might not have planned on the troll escaping the lower levels at all. He was stopped by the dog, and had to try again by approaching Hagrid.” 

Harry had been sitting still and listening, he nodded slowly. “That does seem to make sense. Judging by your books, you have more reasons than just this one.” 

Malfoy closed his book, nodding. “I thought of something else in regards to the man. We have been talking about his lack of teaching from the start of the term. If he is actually a follower of a Dark Wizard, wouldn’t it make sense as to why he isn’t actually teaching us anything worthwhile. Times may be peaceful now, but the number of times he had just retold old stories rather than give us useful information is starting to become suspicious.” 

“That isn’t exactly proof…” Granger hesitated. “But you do make a good point.” 

“I have other evidence.” Malfoy snorted at her comment and pulled up another book, then one more. He turned to the pages he had marked and showed them to the group. “There is the Hogwarts official information about the Forbidden Forest. It states that the forest is off limits for students, especially after dark. ‘Under no circumstances should students venture out into the woods, as they are far too dangerous for that to be even remotely safe or recommended.’” Malfoy read from the book. “This means that out detention was illegal, and should not have taken place at all. Hagrid is foolish enough to disregard these rules, or he might not know of them at all, and Filch is just that hateful and angry. He wouldn’t actually care if some students got hurt or even killed, as he has continuously spoken of what he’d like to do to us as punishment. That leaves only Quirrell as the person who should have stepped in and stopped it by giving us a normal detention. Which he, of course, didn’t. He even said that he would arrange it with Hagrid himself. It just so happens that if the Dark Lord is after Lupin, the Forbidden Forest would be the an excellent place to try and get him out of the way in. If Quirrell told the Dark Lord, then it would make a lot more sense as to why he was this close to the school, and just happened to run into Lupin of all people. ” 

Harry stared at him, it was not only that what Malfoy was saying was making a lot of sense, but everything he was stating was backed up by events, reasons, and logic. He even had sources to build on what he was saying, rather than just making claims based on emotional or biased opinions. 

“I also asked some of the older Slytherin students about what their curriculum was like when they were in first year, and what they have described is nothing like what we have been taught this year. They say that his way of teaching has changed, he always had a stutter, but never quite this bad. Someone said that it almost seems like he is faking it now, but that it wasn’t like that before this year.” The blonde boy summarised. They only had his word that he had spoken to them, but it was so easy to check that it wasn’t even worth lying about.

“But he couldn’t just get away with something like that!” Granger shook her head, gripping her quill as if it was the only thing which kept her sane at that moment. “Changing the curriculum and expect to get away with it, I mean. That would be discovered sooner or later, especially by the end of the year review.”

“He wouldn’t have to get away with it.” Harry pointed out. “If the Dark Lord returns, he isn’t likely to continue teaching at Hogwarts, so it wouldn’t matter in the future if he was a bad teacher.” 

“Further,” the blonde boy pointed at the other book, at a sections about unicorns. His finger rested on the word maiden. “This book states that unicorns are the most comfortable with women, girls or maidens. To use a group of boys to find an already wounded creature who generally responds bad to anything not female isn’t very logical. Hagrid should have known this as he is the gamekeeper, and if we give the man the benefit of doubt, there must have been a different reason as to why he thought it a good idea to bring us out on the venture. If he was convinced by someone else, that would explain why he was careless enough to bring us instead of a better choice.” 

“You’re right.” Harry agreed. “It really is hard to explain why a school would send eleven year olds out in the Forbidden Forest to chase down a creature who could get violent with them for being male. Especially in the middle of the night. It really does seem like a trap.” 

“Finally, and this is just speculation, but in regards to what happened in the forest, it seemed that your head starts to hurt very badly when you are around the Dark Lord. For the point of my reasoning, Granger, we will assumed that the hooded figure actually was who the centaur said he was.” Malfoy almost snapped at the Gryffindor, as she had opened her mouth as if to protest the possibility that the figure was the Dark Lord. “So, if your head is actually hurting because the Dark Lord is close, then your scar might be reacting to the magic of the person who inflicted it.” 

Harry lift his hand, touching his scar. “So you think that it’s my scar hurting, rather than my head hurting from the scent of all that garlic?” 

“Of course I don’t know enough about magical scars and expelled curses or...such.” Malfoy’s lips became a thin, displeased line as he admitted to not knowing. “And I can’t exactly tell from where or why you get headaches, but I didn’t see that figure make any gestures or utter any spells. I tried to research spells which cause headaches, but there are only small, simple ones which don’t really fit the description of blinding pain which you told me of.” 

“Maybe Harry is just allergic to garlic?” Neville suggested. “That could be a possible reason too, right?”

“I’m not allergic to garlic.” Harry grinned at the other. “But I might be a vampire.” 

Neville laughed nervously. 

“People.” Malfoy called their attention to him again. “I’m very serious here, this is not something we can ignore.”

“Sorry.” Harry bit his lower lip. “What you are saying does make a lot of sense, and that makes me very happy that you came here before Quirrell could trick me away. Thank you.” 

“Say that you are right,” the Gryffindor girl spoke up, meanwhile rolling the quill between her fingers. “And you do...seem to be, the evidence and the logic all seem sound. I do… in fact, believe you. Yet, what can we actually do about it? We are eleven, our word isn’t likely to have anyone act, just as how Professor Snape didn’t act when you spoke to him about your worries for the Stone.” 

Malfoy and Harry caught one another’s gaze, hesitation and understanding being exchanged with one look. 

“You are right.” The green eyed boy sighed, resting his head in his hand. “There isn’t really anything we can do with the information, but that doesn’t mean that the information won’t be useful or valuable. I have learnt that I’m never letting myself be alone with Quirrell again. So if nothing else, that is a good thing to know. Also, with what Granger said, that man is not very likely to continue teaching next year, so I will just need to stay away for a few more months and he should likely be gone for next year.”

“That’s far less proactive than I would like.” Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. “I thought we could do… something about it. I don’t know what, but… something…” He sighed. 

“You did very well in gathering your sources though.” Harry reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “Fifty points to Slytherin for Draco Malfoy and his research.” He grinned, causing his friend to turn red. He got a small kick on the shin back for his praise, but it was a weak one which was more akin to Malfoy’s toes lightly bumping against his leg. 

“Fifty points from Harry Lupin for referring to me by my full name like a crazy person.” Malfoy chuckled, seeming more than a little satisfied over the whole scenario. 

“Don’t you have a middle name?” Harry requested, leaning his head to the side with a grin. “You never told me what it was.” 

Malfoy huffed, beginning to gathering his books. “That is one I’m not giving out. It’s my secret.” 

“I suppose I have to surrender myself to remain unknowing.” The son of a werewolf handed his friend one of the books. 

“See you later, Lupin.” Malfoy hesitated, looking over at Neville and Granger, who both seemed uncertain if they should meet his eye or not. He hesitated a little longer and then nodded at them. “Gryffindors.” The blonde boy left, walking around a bookcase and disappeared off to his own vices. 

“Do you really believe his theory?” Neville carefully asked Granger, who gave a small, hesitant shrug in response. 

“It seemed logical, there was evidence to back everything up. Besides, Lupin is clearly convinced, and I do trust in his judgement more than I do Malfoy.” She summarised. “But like I said, in practice, it only means that Lupin should stay away from the man out of the possibility that it is true. Nothing really changes, but we are aware. There really isn’t something we can do but try and take precautions, and wait for Prof- ehm, Quirrell, to be fired for negligence.” 

Harry came to realise something as she said the last thing. “But wait… Isn’t it a little strange that Professor Dumbledore would just… not notice? If most of the older students find this strange, and if Malfoy was able to gather the information, isn’t it a little curious that none of the adults around would have noticed?” 

“Maybe he is more careful around adults?” Neville suggested. 

“I have noticed that Professor Snape doesn’t seem to like him all that much. I have heard them argue a few times.” Granger pointed out, before her cheeks turned a little red. “I… I did follow him around for a little, since I was that suspicious of him. He was mostly normal, other than when he talked to Quirrell. I thought that he might be the one instigating it, but if he actually noticed the change in the man’s behavior, maybe that’s why he was so…” She searched for a word. “Suspicious and hostile towards him?” 

“Professor Snape is very high on the list of people who would notice changes. He is relentless if he notices something off in his classroom, he is sure to notice a lot more than a cauldron out of line.” Harry agreed, absently playing with a page of the book in front of him. 

“You speak of him being that observant is a good thing…” Neville, who had often been reprimanded for mistakes and misalignment of items and ingredients, whined. “He hardly blames the Slytherin students for those things, while being rather scary about it to everyone else.” 

“He reprimands us too.” Harry smiled at his friend, albeit a little tiredly. “That favoritism you’re speaking of is only because most other teachers expect trouble from us, and Professor Snape is the only one to actually reward us for our accomplishments.” 

“That isn’t… I mean, that can’t be true…” Granger looked shocked and uncomfortable over the implications behind what Harry had said. “The teachers fairly give out points to those who deserve it, there is no bias towards any House from their part.” 

“The whole system of House points and the House Cup is just there to reward good behavior and hone what are seen as good qualities, while punishing unwanted behaviors and actions.” Harry informed her, looking straight at her as he spoke. He tried to be polite, but his expression had turned a little tired. He wasn’t in any way angry with her, but it was tiring to try and explain to someone why such a seemingly important part of what they deemed their everyday was something else than what they thought. “If the system really was about rewarding academic achievements and knowledge, Ravenclaw should win every House Cup with ease. Yet due to a subconscious bias from the teachers about expecting Ravenclaws to be that good at everything academic, they tend to fail to reward them for it. If the system was only about well behavior, Hufflepuff should win, as they seldom go out of the mould or try anything reckless. Neither do they really bully or hurt other students, like many Gryffindors and Slytherins do. What is left is rewarding someone when they exceed expectations. Most of my points come from a teacher expecting me to not be able to answer the question and still managing.”

“...That’s why I get points too. In Herbology.” Neville wore a shocked expression on his face, staring at Harry with a look of understanding on his face. “I never get points otherwise.” 

“But I do get points for my answers.” Granger objected, she clearly had trouble accepting Harry’s version of the House Cup. 

“You do, and you are genuinely impressing. Still, I imagine you wouldn’t have gotten half of them if you had been a Ravenclaw.” Harry rested his head in his hand, trying to not look like he was challenging her. “What is left is to punish bad behavior. Gryffindors are usually very high on the list of people who recklessly disregards rules. Slytherins are… well, they have been targeted enough for their connections to Dark Magic that they will seek to attack before attacked. It’s a very unhealthy mindset of seeking to do damage as to not have it done to them. Which of course causes lone Slytherin students to be targeted all the more, and the divide just keeps on growing.” He waved his finger back and forth in the air as to signal said divide. “Everyone expects bad things from a Slytherin, and therefore, a Slytherin is more likely to be pushed down a bad path. Professor Snape is the only teacher who really seeks to reward Slytherin students for their behavior and what they do, and because he is the only one, people treat it like he is favoritising us.” Harry had talked a lot about these matters with his dad during the winter break, which made it a lot easier to repeat what Remus had helped him put into words. He had mostly understood all those ideas himself, but sometimes it was a little hard to fully reasoning from start to finish, and to put proper words on matters without repeating the wisdom of his dad. 

Neville looked very conflicted. “So you are saying that I’m being targeted by Slytherin students who were targeted by other students? It’s not even about me, but that they just want someone to take their frustration out on?” 

“Yeah,” the son of a werewolf confirmed. “That does not mean that it is right by any means, but the expected behaviors which are enforced by the Housing system and the House Cup is to blame for a lot of the tension between the Houses. This school would do much better to not have a Housing system whatsoever, and focus more on rewarding or punishing individuals, rather than the collective. As punishing the collective leads to animosity and bullying, or unhealthy hero worship.” 

Neville blinked at him. “You’re so knowledgeable, Harry. You understand things so well.” 

The green eyed boy smiled at him and shook his head. “I’m mostly repeating what my dad has said. I wouldn’t be able to put it into words like this, but I do know that I don’t like the system as it is.” 

“Oh.” Neville blinked again. “Your dad is really clever.” 

“He has a teaching license.” Harry puffed his chest out. 

“I wish your dad could come teach at Hogwarts.” Neville said longingly. “He sounds really nice.” 

Harry smiled at him, leaning his head to the side. “Yeah, me too. I don’t think he will, but I would like it if he did.” 

“But…” Granger spoke up, returning to the previous subject of the House Cup. “If all of that was true, why haven’t they stopped and created a new system?” 

“The Sorting Hat told me that it was because of many different reasons, but mostly because of expectations and the school’s reputation. It’s that integrated and unique a part of what makes Hogwarts, well, Hogwarts. We had a very nice discussion about the Houses, which is why it took such a long time for me to be sorted.” The green eyed boy told the two Gryffindors. 

“Oh… It was mostly talking about future studying opportunities with me, and career choices.” Neville admitted. “It told me that I might fit well into Hufflepuff, but that if I was placed there, it was very likely that I would just fall through the cracks and never be able to work with Herbology. It told me that Hufflepuffs have to generally work really hard to be recognised, and that more places outside of Hogwarts would favour a Gryffindor employee rather than a Hufflepuff one. It took a long time for me to decide if my work after school was worth more to me than my general comfort in my House. I mean, now I have Hermione, so everything worked out fine, but I really did think that I had made a mistake at first…” He smiled at the girl, who blushed in return, and hid behind her book. 

“That’s… rough. Having to make such choices about your future when you are eleven.” Harry have him a sympathetic look. They both turned to the girl who was still half hiding behind her book. 

“What it said to me?” Her voice had turn into a light squeak. 

“You don’t have to tell us.” Neville hurriedly spoke up, lifting his hands to emphasise his point. 

“You can if you want to, but it really isn’t something you need to do.” Harry agreed with his friend. 

“Uhm…” She looked at Harry, and then avoided his eyes as if ashamed. The green eyed boy was reminded of the Mirror of Erised, and the way she had been so attracted to the ideas which it had showed her. He wondered if the Sorting Hat’s discussion had anything to do with those ideas about her future. He couldn’t think of any other reason as to why she would specifically look at him with that expression. 

“I…” Granger tried again. “It told me that I was brave. That I had turned away from the life of a Muggle to step into and dare explore the World of Magic. It told me that I had a great head for studying and learning, and that I had a great hunger for knowledge and to… prove myself. The Sorting Hat told me that I was brave enough to make a change, if I wanted to, and that Ravenclaw might accidentally undermine all I wanted to do, because of expectations from that House.” She finally admitted. 

“So… I suppose the Hat told us all that to make a change, and get what we actually want, we needed to step out of our comfort zones?” Harry tried to put words to his thoughts. 

“So it would seem.” Neville laughed with a nervous look on his face. “That’s a little frightening to learn. It sort of makes it seem like you can’t really accomplish things without being daring.” 

“I don’t think what the Sorting Hat was trying to say was that we should be reckless and take risks to achieve what we want, but rather that to make change happen, one has to be willing to take steps outside one’s comfort. Change won’t come from compliance or inaction.” Granger looked determined as she spoke, and a lot more motivated than Harry had seen her so far. He thought of the mirror once more, and felt proud over her for having chosen the idea of acting, rather than remaining dreaming. He smiled at her, and she smiled weakly in return. 

The group of friends all smiled at one another, despite all of them having an understanding that what they all wanted was possible, but that the road there would be a long one. Still, to reach where they wanted in life, they had to do more than just sit around and speak about it. They had exams to complete, and to pass them, they needed to study. The three first year students returned to their books, beginning to study once more. They all tried very hard to not think too hard about the fact that they had a traitor in their midst at Hogwarts.


	16. Chapter 15 - In which Albus Dumbledore takes an unexpected leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are going to do it, aren’t you?” Malfoy slowly breathed out of his nose, looking at Harry with a strange look which spoke of worry, guilt and fear. “You are going to go… down that trap door, no matter what, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”
> 
> “...I don’t want to.” Harry licked his lips, avoiding the other boy’s eyes.

“Ughn…” Crabbe groaned into the table, holding over his head as if he would be able to protect himself from the outside world if he only curled together enough. 

They had just finished their exams, and despite not feeling the most confident in his results, Harry was at least certain that he would pass. Blaise seemed confident enough, but then again, one wouldn’t quite be certain when it came to Blaise and his excellent control over his own displayed emotions. Malfoy had done good, or so he said, and nobody questioned it out of fear of stressing the blonde boy out. Crabbe and Goyle were less than satisfied with their efforts, and were in varying stages of misery on opposite side of the Slytherin Great Hall table.

“It’s alright, Vince.” Harry patted him on the back. “If you don’t pass this exam, I will help you study for the next one.” 

“I’ll help as well.” Blaise offered. 

“What about me?” Goyle whimpered from across the table at Harry, looking at him with pleading eyes. 

“Of course.” Harry and Blaise spoke as one. 

“Lupin…!” A whisper which was far too loud to be a whisper called for him, and he turned around to find Granger and Neville standing behind him, both looking shaken and worried. At first, Harry thought that it was because of the exams, but he quickly rejected the idea as a little unrealistic. 

“Yes?” He responded when neither of them spoke up about what the problem was. 

“Something has… come up, come with us, we… need to talk.” The girl was still trying to keep her voice low, but she was clearly having a hard time accomplishing that task. 

Harry frowned, but figured that she wouldn’t be this upset if something wasn’t terribly wrong. He got to his feet and excused himself from his friends, but as he did, Malfoy did as well. He had a determined look in his eyes, causing no one to object as he followed Granger and Neville out alongside Harry. 

The group walked to a small study room, which was completely unoccupied as most students were either still stuck with their exams, or celebrated their newly gained freedom in the sun outside of Hogwarts confiding walls. Malfoy closed the door and turned towards the Gryffindor students with his arms cross over his chest. “What has happened?” He demanded, with far more authority than an eleven year old should have been capable of. 

Granger and Neville looked between one another, as neither of them was all that comfortable around Malfoy, nor he them. Still, their discovery of nervousworthy nature was clearly more important than their attitude towards the blonde boy. 

“I finished my exams early, and as I left the room, I heard Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall speaking. Apparently, Dumbledore has left the school, as he was called away for some very important Ministry business.” Granger rambled quickly. “And,” she continued before anyone else could interrupt her. “Apparently, Quirrell has… disappeared. He might have gone to try and steal the Stone right as we are speaking!” She looked very stressed as she spoke, and her eyes seemed closed to teary eyed. “What do we do? If we go to the teachers, they might not do anything and then… Should we go after him?” 

The group stared at one another, all of them having turned pale. They all felt the rising panic of the decision which was not being made. 

“We’re… children…” Neville spoke first. “How are we supposed to stop a really powerful Dark Lord and a Hogwarts teacher?” 

“Are there any teachers who are not busy with the exams?” Harry spoke up after having thought for a while. “There must be someone… Professor McGonagall might still be on a break, how long ago did you hear her talk to Professor Sprout?” 

“It was almost one and a half hour ago, I think…” Granger looked around for some manner of clock but found none in the small study room. “Perhaps more.” 

“If she is on a break, she should be in her office.” Malfoy concluded. 

“Let’s try and find her before we do anything else.” Harry was already walking to the door as he spoke. “If we are lucky, we might be able to speak with her.” 

The group hurried out of the study room, Granger and Neville leading the way towards the Gryffindor Head’s office. They more or less rushed inside, accidentally slamming the door as they did. To their great surprise and relief, the woman was sitting by her desk, she had looked up at the sound of the door, clearly not approving of the manner they had entered. 

“Whatever the rush for? I shall not approve of that way of handling doors. Do explain yourselves.” She demanded as she placed her quill to the side, glaring at them with a disapproving frown on her face. 

“Sorry!” Harry quickly apologised as he hurried up to her desk. “Professor, we know about the Philosopher's Stone.” The woman was not too good at keeping her expression neutral, and as she hear the Stone mentioned, her face revealed her shock without the need for her to speak. “Someone is trying to steal it, we believe that it might be someone within Hogwarts who is working together with the Dark Lord to try and get to it. Please, check on the Stone, bring more people! If something isn’t done, then…” Harry finished by waving his arms without any clear direction to his movements. 

The teacher shook her head. “I don’t know where or how you figured out about the Stone or why you think someone is trying to steal it, but the stone is well protected, I assure you. Anyone who tries to steal it will find themselves failing.”

“How can you be so sure?” Malfoy spoke up, sounding a lot more demanding than he probably intended to. The woman’s eyes turned thin as she looked upon him. 

“Ten points from Slytherin for your tone, Mr. Malfoy. None of you need concern yourself with this, it is far beyond your age and you should not have to be bothered with it. Now leave my office, I have much work to do and I cannot waste time being questioned in matters you are too young to understand.” She waved them off, and no objections from them reached her ears. She shut the door with magic, locking them out of her office once and for all. 

The group looked at one another, none of them actually felt reassured or calmed by what had just transpired. If they had been stressed before, it was nothing compared to what they felt now. Her dismissal almost seemed unnatural to them, in that she had been so certain so that she didn’t have to think of it rather than actually being certain. 

“What do we do now?” Malfy crossed his arms over his chest, clearly displeased with the whole situation and over having lost points for his House due to his accidental rudeness.

“What can we do?” Neville shrugged, looking utterly defeated. “We can’t really do anything, can we?” 

“But if we do nothing, then he might return… If we just sit here, then maybe… maybe everything will go back to that horrible time of… of…” Granger couldn’t find a strong enough word to voice just how terrible the time of the Dark Lord’s reign had been. 

Harry was quiet for a while, staring at the teacher’s door and then back at his friends. “We don’t know if both Quirrell and the Dark Lord went to get the Stone. He is still weak, he might not be there at all…” Harry slowly reasoned..”If we can catch up to Quirrell before he gets the Stone, we might be able to stop him from getting it to the Dark Lord.”

“But McGonagall said t-” Granger tried, but she was interrupted. 

“You are going to do it, aren’t you?” Malfoy slowly breathed out of his nose, looking at Harry with a strange look which spoke of worry, guilt and fear. “You are going to go… down that trap door, no matter what, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”

“...I don’t want to.” Harry licked his lips, avoiding the other boy’s eyes. “But if nobody else can do anything, I have to at least try… Or I’ll have to live the rest of my life knowing that I could have stopped something from happening but didn’t. The Dark Lord might return because someone was too afraid to act… I can’t accept that.” Further, there was a strange and unfamiliar sensation nagging at his mind. He didn’t understand it fully, but it felt similar to the pain which came with associating himself with the name Potter. He felt somehow responsible, as if this was pushed upon him, the way the name had been by the Wizarding World. The world clearly refused giving up on him being Harry Potter, and it made the child feel as if it was somehow his responsibility to act, no matter how misguided such sentiment was. 

“...I told you I didn’t want you to go off without me.” Malfoy’s expression was tense, but he looked determined. “This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said that but… I still feel like I will regret it if I let you go without me.” 

“I’ll come too…!” Neville spoke up, taking a step forward. 

“I will as well.” Granger looked the most frightened, but she joined Neville in stepping forward. 

Harry didn’t mean to, but he couldn’t help but grin at them. He had been prepared to try and go alone, and try to battle an accomplished wizard with his own power. To expect his friends to follow him had been far too much for anyone to expect. Their desire to come with him and try to help him meant so much to the boy that he almost felt like crying. “T-thank you.” His voice broke as he spoke to them. 

They looked at one another, four frightened children who found no other choice but to try and stop a Hogwarts teacher from restoring the Dark Lord to power. Four frightened children who found that their only option was action. Four friends who were about to descend into danger for the sake of a world who hardly knew that they existed. 

It was surprisingly easy to get to the forbidden floor. People were busy elsewhere and there was no real guard to keep them from their destination, as Filch and Mrs. Norris were nowhere to be seen. They reached the corridor and were able to unlock and slowly open the door to Fluffy’s chambers. As they did, the soft sound of a harp came drifting out, alongside the heavy snores of a large animal. The four of them looked at one another and with his heart in his throat, Harry slowly entered. 

Fluffy looked even more giant than he had when he had seen him the first time. The dog was heavily asleep, with one big paw resting on top of the trap door. The rest of the group followed behind Harry, quickly spotting their predicament in the paw on top of the door. They knew that they would have to move it, and thus slowly approached the big paw. Somewhere behind them, the harp continued to play. 

Neville and Harry managed to push the paw aside, and Malfoy bent down to carefully open the trap door. It lead down into complete darkness, with no visible source of light or stairs to descend with. Granger carefully knelt down and, by using the lumos spell, tried to shine a light down into the darkness. 

“I think I can see something moving down there…” She whispered, causing Malfoy to lean down next to her, trying to see as well. 

“Good doggy…” Neville mumbled, giving the paw a pat as he and Harry returned to the trap door. “Just sleep… good…” 

Harry peered into the darkness as well, unlike Granger, he couldn’t see anything move. “It looks like we will have to jump down there.” He whispered, taking a deep breath. “I’ll go first, and call back up. It might wake Fluffy so all of you, prepare to jump or run.” They all nodded. Thus, Harry took a deep breath, thought of his dad, and then stepped into the trap door, falling into darkness. 

He wasn’t sure if he was expecting to fall for long or if he was expecting it to be a short fall, but nonetheless, he was surprised when he hit the ground. It was not exactly soft, but it had softened his fall and made him land safely with minor pain. He moved his hands, touching the thing which he had landed on, and found that it was some type of plant. 

“It’s safe, there is a plant here which makes the fall safter. Just be careful not to jump on one another.” He scooted to the side, and as he did, he got the feeling that the plant moved underneath him. 

Malfoy landed next to him, soon followed by Granger and Neville. The light which had seemed to impossibly dark before was starting to become less impenetrable. Harry blinked, able to see Malfoy’s blonde hair in the faint light from the trapdoor. 

“What is this plant…?” Malfoy frowned, he seemed to be looking down at his hands, he might have noticed it squirming underneath him. 

“Lumos.” Granger whispered somewhere to Harry’s right, she seemed to be the furthest away from him. The light from her wand lit up the room this time, and they were all able to see the space they were now in, as well as the plant. From what Harry could tell, the plant seemed to be dark as the night, with an almost flesh like texture. It didn’t seem wet in the least, but it shimmered in some places. 

“Oh no.” Neville whispered. 

As if the plant had been motivated by his words, it suddenly moved. The black vines lashed out, lacing around them all like snakes. Harry felt like he all but blinked and then found himself ensnared, his arms trapped to his sides and the legs wrapping together, making him unable to move. He felt one vine wrap around his neck and try to shut his mouth by wrapping around it. Harry instinctively bit down upon it, and it seemed to react to the pain as it pulled back. 

“Don’t fight it!” Neville tried to call out as they all began to panic and struggle against the vines. It evidently wasn’t working, so he turned to his fellow Gryffindor, who was the only one able to reach her wand, mostly because she had already been holding it when the plant attacked. “Hermione, sunlight! It ha-” He didn’t make it any further with that sentence, as the plant tentacle shut him down.

The Gryffindor girl heard him, and shouted out the name of a spell. The tip of her wand burst out into light, even stronger and more direct than the previous light spell. Harry felt the vines vibrate around him, there was a sound like that of a beast screaming in pain, and the vines untangled from them. Harry grabbed Malfoy and pulled him up, as Granger and Neville helped one another to their feet. None of them spoke but collectively began searching for an exit. As the vines moved, a door had become visible, located straight ahead of them. Harry moved towards it, and to his great delight, it opened as he pulled on the handle. 

They all made it out of the room, Harry pushed the door shut, breathing hard. He turned towards his friends, who were looking around in the room they were currently in. It seemed calm enough, so calm that the son of a werewolf became suspicious. His eyes came to settle on a broom in the center of the room. Now that their adrenaline had begun to lower in their bodies, and their pants calmed down into gasps, they became aware of another sound. It was the fluttering of wings, like that of hummingbirds. 

“Those are… keys.” Malfoy had leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling of the room. It was a surprisingly big room, far too big. It seemed to be lit up by some manner of light from above, making it far brighter than the room before. Malfoy was looking at hundreds of tiny, flying things. Harry couldn’t tell what they were at all, but after Malfoy pointed them out to be keys, he recognised the shapes to be just that. 

“This room seems… safer than the other room.” Harry looked down, searching on the ground for something dangerous. The sound of the hummingbird-like keys made the room almost serene. The others seemed to agree with him, as they all took the time to catch their breaths. “What was that...plant?” He glanced at Neville, who had been the one to know what to do. 

“It’s called the Devil’s Snare.” He caught his breath and stood up a little straighter, brushing some stray hairs from his face. “Uh, the Devil is some kind of mythological beast to Muggles.” He explained in Malfoy’s direction, causing the blonde to frown. His reason for frowning was most likely due to not quite knowing what Neville was talking about, rather than being displeased. “It… uh, strangles its victims, causing them to faint and then eats them while they are technically still alive. Slowly.”

His words sent shudders through them all, and they exchanged uncomfortable glances. They had all known that traversing through that trap door would be dangerous, but none of them had quite understood that their lives might be put at risk even before reaching their destination. That plant could have killed them. It seemed to them all that the comparison of a big dog and that of a murderous plant was quite different. The dog had been frightening, but it hadn’t necessarily been placed there to kill. The plant had. 

“...We should continue.” Granger was the one to urge the group on. “We have already gotten down here, there is no going back. Our only option is to continue.” She turned towards the room once more, searching for an exit. 

The Gryffindor spotted a door on the other side of the chamber, and carefully crossed the room, glancing up at the keys as she did. None of them reacted, and she reached the door without trouble. She whispered the name of the spell and tried to pull the door open, but nothing happened. By this time, the boys had crossed the room and joined her on the other side. Malfoy was still keeping a close eye on the keys above them, as if he was searching for something. 

“The door is still locked.” Granger turned to her friends, looking confused and lost. 

“One of the keys up there must be for the door then?” Harry suggested. 

“Judging by the door, it should be an old, silver key, probably rather large.” Malfoy had glanced at the keyhole, and was searching through the hoard of keys for one which he assumed could fit the door. “There seems to be a key like that, with a broken wing. It is flying rather low, can you see it?” He pointed, and while Harry did his best to try and spot it, he wasn’t entirely certain as to which key his fellow Slytherin was pointing to. 

“So… we’re expected to use the broom to get the key?” Neville looked uncertain. 

“It seems that way.” Malfoy was already walking towards the broom, with a look of determination on his face. “It seems almost too easy, so when I grab the broom, get ready to take cover by the wall.” 

He reached his destination, made sure that the others had followed his instructions, and then jumped onto the broom, kicking off as soon as his feet touched the ground. He was airborne within seconds, his movements had been the smooth kind which only comes from years of practice. Just like Malfoy had suspected, as soon as he touched the broom, the keys had become aggressive, and they rushed towards him as if they wanted to stab him with their flat little faces. Had he not had such a smooth, quick takeoff, he might have been blinded by the cluster of keys. 

As Malfoy flew, the keys rushed after him, furiously flapping their little wings as to catch up to him. There was one key which seemed to be fleeing rather than attacking, causing the experienced flier to go after it. Harry believed that he saw a glint of silver in the fleeing key, but he wasn’t sure. Malfoy was, however. He rushed after the key, swiftly catching it in the air. He called out towards Harry, who rushed forward. His friend came flying down, Harry held out his hand, and with a painful smack, he found the key in his hand. Ignoring that pain, he closed his hand around the silver key. It fluttered angrily in his hand, but Harry held it, running towards the door. He stuffed it into the keyhole, the door became unlocked and the three friends pulled it open. They all headed inside, and Harry grabbed a hold of the handle from the other side, he was quickly joined by Neville. 

“Malfoy!” Harry called upwards. 

The blonde boy was still flying through the air, avoiding the keys by staying ahead of them. Malfoy turned in the air, aligning himself with the door and then flew straight at the opening. Harry felt the rush of wind as he passed next to them. Together, Harry and Neville pulled the door shut. They all heard the keys as they collided with the door on the other side.

Malfoy jumped off the broom, his hair and clothes had become messes from the way he had been flying around, but his eyes gleamed with an almost maniac gleam which Harry attributed to an adrenaline rush from flying. As soon as the boy was no longer touching the broom, it seemed to fade from existence, most likely returning back to its original place in the previous room. 

“That was easy.” Malfoy tried to adjust his hair, still smiling with pride. “What’s next?” 

“Don’t get cocky.” Granger sighed, shaking her head. 

They turned towards the room, as they did, it was slowly lit up to reveal a giant chessboard. Through the white pieces on the other side, they could see the exit. The group of first year students glanced at one another. 

“So we’re supposed to play… chess?” Granger looked skeptical, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I...suppose?” Harry glanced around, then carefully began walking around the board. When he got closer to the white’s side of the board, the pieces came to life, holding their weapons out to stop him from passing. Harry raised his hands at them, which seemed to calm them down. However, he could still feel their cold eyes upon him as he moved. 

As he returned to his friends, Harry spoke up “I think the board is supposed to be big enough for a person to take the place of one of the pieces.” 

“They want us to… become the pieces?” Neville looked nervous. “This is Wizard Chess, those pieces are not… I mean, they aren’t safe.”

“There is nothing that seems to be saying that we have to become the pieces.” Malfoy was looking around, trying to find some manner of instructions. “It clearly wants us to play black…” He walked around the board so that he could see it clearer. He followed up by pointing at one of the pieces on the black side of the board, instructing it to move. It didn’t. “...Mn. The king would be the safest position, but I wouldn’t be able to see the entire board from there.” Malfoy licked his lips, glancing back at his fellow first year students. “...Who wants to get up on the board?” 

Harry, Neville and Granger looked at one another. They all knew that the person on the board wouldn’t be safe, but the game didn’t seem like it was about to start without at least one of them on the board. 

“I will d-” Harry began speaking, but to his great surprise, Neville spoke up before he had the chance to reach the end of his sentence. 

“No, I’ll go.” They all turned to him, he was shaking, but Harry had never seen him so determined. “I’m not good at this game, there isn’t likely to be another plant in these, uh… trials. If Harry is hurt then… Well, I’m the least helpful in this situation, so I should be the one to act as a piece.” 

Harry wanted to object, wanted to point out that the other boy had just as much to give compared to any of them, but it was true that Neville wasn’t a very accomplished magic wielder. Granger far surpassed them all with her intellect and knowledge, Malfoy was their best chance to win the chess game, as he was the most experienced player. Finally, despite everything Harry knew to the contrary, he had been the one to defeat the Dark Lord once, and that was more valuable to the world than most other things. It felt so very fundamentally wrong to the son of a werewolf to compare the value of one’s current abilities, thus selecting who had the most worth as a person. Still, this was no place to argue, as Neville had already made up his mind, and they were running out of time. They didn’t know how much further Quirrell had gotten. 

Neville moved towards the board, his jaw set and the look in his eyes more brave than a child his age should ever have to force himself to be. 

“King, exchange places.” Malfoy ordered, and the king slowly scooted off the board to let Neville take his place. 

The two boys glanced at one another, the two of them had never really talked, but there was an undeniable understanding between the two of them at that moment. Malfoy had placed the Gryffindor in the safest position on the board. As the king, Neville would be protected to the end of the game, and Malfoy would not be crippled in having pieces which he couldn’t move for the sake of protecting his fellow students. There was no guaranteed safe place on the board, but Neville relied on Malfoy’s ability to play, and let himself be placed in the comparatively safest position, or at least the position which would be the most guarded for the longest time of the game. Malfoy relied on his knowledge of the game to protect Neville. As long as nobody got to the king, and as long as Malfoy won, Neville would be safe. 

The game began. It didn’t take long for pieces to start breaking one another apart, the stone flying everywhere. Malfoy directed the pieces, while Harry tried to help him best he could, and managed to help with a few successful moves. Granger was mostly clinging to Harry’s arm, close to tears for every black piece which broke on the board. Their opponent was not bad at the game, but whatever moved the white pieces was strangely outdated in its way of playing. Malfoy, who had forced himself to read and study Wizard Chess books and strategies to keep on winning against Blaise, recognised these patterns. 

“It’s… this is an example game.” Malfoy suddenly spoke up. “I’ve seen all of these moves before, it is very basic… The lack of strategy makes it obvious. Whoever enchanted this board has it following a set template of a game. It is only going after pieces based on how generally powerful they are and how much of a threat they are currently, while ignoring to make advances themselves.” He turned to Harry. “It’s playing a lot like you. It’s reacting to what is currently happening, instead of planning ahead. This is a drawn out battle for time, it isn’t actually trying to win. To win, you have to plan ahead. It’s trying to keep me from advancing…” He turned back to the board, a smirk twisting his features. “I know what to do.” 

After that, he commanded the pieces with far more authority, aligning them on his side of the board while moving bait closer to the other side. Finally, he caught the other player in a trap. He moved one of his knights, announcing his near victory as he did. The white queen took the bait, causing the last of Malfoy’s bishops to corner the king. He announced his victory as the bishop crushed the king to pieces. “Checkmate.”

Granger broke away from Harry’s arms and ran to Neville, throwing herself into his arms with a whimper. He was her best friend after all, and without him, she would be very alone in her own House. The boy meant so much to her that she couldn’t help but fear his loss with every movement of the white pieces, and to hold him again, without him having been harmed in the slightest, was enough to case tears to fall from her eyes. Neville hugged her back, carefully patting her back.

Harry grinned at Malfoy. “I’ll never complain about you beating me in chess again.” Malfoy looked at him with a mix of pride and excitement. That same thrill which had caused his eyes to shine after the difficult ride on the broom was present in his gaze again. It wasn’t a look worthy of alarm, as it didn’t seem unhealthy, but it was clear that the boy enjoyed the rush of adrenaline which came with victory. The look made Harry a little uncomfortable, but he wasn’t too sure why. Besides, it made sense for Malfoy, and his passion for the dangerous and violent sport which was Quidditch. 

Neville and Granger joined them again, with her sniffing and trying to rub her tears away. “N-next room…” Her voice quivered as she spoke up. “Let us… contin-nue…” 

The boys agreed, and they walked towards the door. Harry took a deep breath, held his wand up, and opened the door. They were hit by a strong, foul scent as soon as the door was opened. This caused Harry, Granger and Neville to stare at one another in alarm, as the scent was frighteningly familiar to them. 

Malfoy noticed their strange reaction, and halted in his steps. “What?” He whispered, staring at them as if they knew a secret which they refused to tell him. 

“Troll.” Neville whispered back. Malfoy’s face turned paler, and he scrunched his nose to the scent. 

“I’m not… hearing it move.” Granger whispered, glancing towards the door. “When the other moved, you could feel it in the ground. You could hear it… but it’s dead silent in there.” 

Harry took a deep breath. “I’m going to look inside.”

He had only opened the door slightly before Harry’s nose had been filled by the scent, causing him to stop. As it was now, the door mostly blocked the view. He licked his lips nervously and then carefully leaned forward to peek inside the room. It was a large one, and it smelled quite rancid from inside of it. Harry quickly spotted the body of the troll, as it was lying face down, appearing more or less thrown away into a corner. It wasn’t moving. He pulled his head back and relayed what he has seen. 

“Is it… breathing?” Malfoy settled on a better word than ‘alive.’ 

Harry checked, and returned with the answer that he didn’t know. 

“Can you see the door to the next room?” Neville asked, resulting in Harry checking once more, this time returning with an affirmative answer. “Then… let’s just run. Carefully, and while trying to be silent, but let’s just run.” Neville bit down on his lower lip, another look of determination hardening his face.

“I’ll go first.” Harry agreed. “All of you, follow me as quick as you can.” 

Like four mice, the children scurried through the room, approaching the other door with haste. Harry reached it and pulled it open as slowly as he could to not cause any noise. Neville passed first into the next room, with Malfoy last. Harry took one last glance at the troll, which hadn’t moved in the slightest, and closed the door behind him. 

The next room was much smaller than the previous one. Right in front of them was a table with a collection of potion bottles. As Harry shut the door, said door caught on fire, causing him to hurriedly back away with a loud gasp. In front of him, the rest of the group gasped as the door to the next room caught on fire as well. The door in front of Harry burnt with a lavender hue, while the one in front of his friends burned black. It was evidently magical fire, as it wasn’t damaging anything around it, or the wood of the doors, but Harry got the feeling that it would burn flesh just fine. To try it, he pulled a hair out from his head, and pushed it into the lavender flames. As he did, it did indeed burn almost instantly. 

“There is a paper here.” Granger had walked up to the potions table, and had found a note. “It seems to be a riddle. A logic riddle… That does makes an awful lot of sense, mages tend to have a hard time with logical riddles.” She summarised with a smile which might have been an attempt to look confident, but which looked far more uncomfortable than anything. 

“Can you solve it?” Neville asked, carefully approaching the girl to glance at the paper. 

“Yes, I’m certain I can.” She looked down on the paper, frowning as she read it over one more time. “It says that three bottles have poison, two have nettle wine, one will send the drinker back, and the other will let the drinker move forward into the next room.” 

“Wait...Solve it…” Harry echoed, glancing back at the door with a look of confusion on his face. 

“Yes, I think I ca-” she stopped herself, looking back to meet Harry’s eyes. They exchanged a look of understanding. 

“What are you talking about?” Neville looked between them. “What is going on?” 

“Don’t you think these challenges are a little… curious?” Harry crossed his arms, beginning to pace around the room. “We are able to pass these challenges, and we are eleven. I’m sure that an adult would have far more experience in these matters than we do, so it might not even be all that complicated for them to pass these trials… And why are they even trials to begin with? If you want to keep something away from someone, you wouldn’t want that person to have any way of reaching it. Not give them a riddle with an actual answer in the same room.” 

Malfoy frowned as well. “Although you are right about the last point, we are a rather diverse group with a lot of interests. They are most likely counting on an adult trying to steal the Stone alone, so it makes sense that four people would logically have an easier time figuring these challenges out than a single person on their own.” 

“While that is true,” Granger continued. “These challenges are comparatively simple in terms of what they are. Every mage has a broom, everyone knows roughly what Wizard Chess is. The Devil’s Snare is not that rare of a plant to read about, neither are trolls unheard of. While that doesn’t necessarily make them easy or any less dangerous, it does make them more passable than if you decided to find something rarer. Yet here, I’m holding the key to this riddle in my hand.” She waved the paper. “It’s like giving the key to the vault to the person who might try to rob it.” 

“And if we assume that these challenges were made by the teachers, or at least the working force of Hogwarts, they might all know about what the challenges actually are.” Harry continued. “In theory, it would be possible to pass Fluffy, the Snare, and the chessboard without getting hurt at all.” 

“Judging by that Quirrell didn’t know how to get past Fluffy, we can probably assume that the teachers don’t know each other’s challenges.” Malfoy mused. “That would mean that the only explanation for the challenges being beatable would be that they might want to be able to retrieve the Stone on their own one day. If they wanted it to never, ever be found or used again, they would rather have destroyed it than protecting it, I think.” 

“Still,” Harry stopped, looking over his friends’ faces one more. “The challenges don’t seem hard enough to actually pose a challenge. As you seem capable of getting past them with basic knowledge and understanding of the Wizarding World, they can’t be that very complicated. Doesn’t that mean that it would theoretically be easier to get to the Stone here than it would Gringotts?”

Malfoy frowned. “It’s not that you are entirely wrong. I understand what you are trying to say, but if these challenges aren’t here to actually stop the person, then what are they here for?” 

“Maybe…” Neville nervously licked his lips. “Maybe they are here to buy time? Perhaps entering notified someone, like Professor Dumbledore, and there might be people waiting to ambush us when we come back out again…?” 

“That could be a reason for why Quirrell needed to wait until Professor Dumbledore was gone so that he could pull this off in the first place?” The son of a werewolf reasoned out loud. 

“...Still, is this important right now?” Neville frowned. “Shouldn't we worry about that later? We still haven’t caught up to Quirrell yet.” 

“You’re right.” Harry suddenly felt a little stupid over the whole conversation. “We have to focus, uh, Granger, do you need any help with the riddle?” He returned his attention to her. 

“I’ve solved it.” She announced, pointing towards one of the potion bottles. “This one to go forward, this one to go back.” She pointed to another bottle. 

The group followed where she was pointing. “There… is not enough for everyone to continue forward.” Malfoy was the one to speak up first. “Maybe two of us can, but not all of us.”

“...Then who are going back?” Granger looked around at the rest of them. 

“I am not continuing forward then.” Neville sighed, looking somewhat dejected. “I’m wouldn’t be very useful… So I will go back.” 

The rest looked at one another. Granger very clearly didn’t want to continue forward, her eyes were filled with fear, and her hands were shaking slightly. Still, she was the most powerful spell caster out of all of them, the one who knew the most magic and spells, and who was the most likely to be of help. Logically, she should be continuing, and she knew it. Harry looked over at Malfoy, there was fear in his eyes as well. He had been brave so far, and he had stayed by Harry’s side throughout this whole event. 

Yet, Harry couldn’t possibly ask anyone to follow him in facing down the Dark Lord. He felt dread and guilt at the very thought of it. Harry was the one who had brought them all there, and he was not about to let someone else take that burden from him. He had been the one deciding to come here in the first place, there was no denying that this was his choice, and his responsibility. There was a good possibility that this was the last trial, as it only seemed to allow one person to pass. 

Before anyone could stop him, he turned towards the table, picked up the potion to continue forward, and uncorked it. Before any of his friends had the chance to stop him, he placed it to his lips and drank. 

“Lupin…!” When Malfoy realised what he was doing, it was already too late. 

Harry finished the potion, he didn’t feel any different, so it was all he could do to rely on Granger’s conclusion. There might be trials ahead, but if there were, he would try his best to handle them alone. Still, he had a very strong feeling that this was it, and that he’d meet Quirrell or something more behind those black flames. 

“Lupin!” Malfoy yelled at him. “What were you thinking?” He looked like he was about to hit Harry, emotion making his eyes appear watery. “We don’t know what is behind that door, you might need us!” 

“I haven’t done anything so far.” Harry spoke, trying to appear calmer than he felt. “Whatever is behind that door, I will face it. Be careful on the way back, the chess room should be the safest, if I can’t move forward, I will come back to you.” He tried his best to be direct and emotionless, which made his words come off as somewhat stiff. 

Malfoy looked at him, still with blaming, angry eyes. “You… You self sacrificing…!” He bit his lower lip, looking like he wanted to cry. Harry carefully moved in to hug him. Malfoy hiccuped and then hugged him back. “If you don’t come back… I’m going to…”

“Yeah.” Harry didn’t know what else to say. He was sure that he had done something rather foolish in deciding to go alone without anyone’s input about the choice, yet he also felt like it had been the only right choice. He carefully patted Malfoy’s back as he separated from him. “I understand. I will come back again, and I won’t do anything like this again. Thank you for worrying about me.” 

The green eyed boy looked back at his other two friends, Granger looked in between relieved and shocked. Neville looked serious but worried. The two of them looked at Harry, unable to find words to express themselves. Harry nodded at them, which caused Granger to come over and hug him. Not closely, but it was at very genuine hug. She broke from him, looked him in the eyes, and nodded. 

“B-be careful.” Somehow, she found her voice. 

Harry turned towards the door, took a deep breath, and began walking towards it. His heart was slamming in his chest but his mind felt oddly serene. He felt like a person who had previously struggled against the tide, and now allowed it to lead him. Before he reached for the heavy looking door handle, he hesitated, turning back once more. “...If I don’t come back. Tell my dad that I love him… and that I’m sorry.” 

Harry saw them all step forward as if to stop him, but he reached out and opened the door, the black flames allowing him to pass without hurting him in the least. He heard that Malfoy yelled something after him, but the roaring flames swallowed the son of a werewolf up, guiding him to the room which Harry assumed to be the final one.


	17. Chapter 16 - In which Quirinus Quirrell argues with his reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Of all the people to come after me, I expected it to be Snape.” The man turned, causing Harry to quickly take one step back up the stairs to create some distance between them. Quirrell looked different. Not physically, but it was clear that he was no longer acting like the same person. He was no longer hunched over, eyes fleeing from any type of contact and hands nervously playing with anything they might get their hands on. Now, he was standing straight, with a vicious look in his eyes, and a cruel expression on his face. His hands were no longer shaking or fidgeting, but held onto his wand with purpose. 

The room Harry found himself in was rather grand. He seemed to be in some sort of temple, where white stone pillars filled the room, leading down to a type of arena. Harry found himself standing on the top of a set of stairs, looking down upon a man clad in purple, who was walking back and forth in front of what seemed to be the Mirror of Erised. He recognised Quirrell, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought of how proud Malfoy would be to actually have been right about the man. Harry began to slowly walk down the stairs, he had no plan, yet he held on to his wand with such a tight grip that his knuckles turned white. 

“Of all the people to come after me, I expected it to be Snape.” The man turned, causing Harry to quickly take one step back up the stairs to create some distance between them. Quirrell looked different. Not physically, but it was clear that he was no longer acting like the same person. He was no longer hunched over, eyes fleeing from any type of contact and hands nervously playing with anything they might get their hands on. Now, he was standing tall, with a vicious look in his eyes, and a cruel expression on his face. His hands were no longer shaking or fidgeting, but held onto his wand with purpose. 

“But lo and behold, if it isn’t Potter.” He glared at him, as if his stare could actually force Harry’s soul out of his body. 

“Lupin.” Despite the crippling fear which pulsed through Harry, the automatic response to people who used the wrong name for him was simply that strong of an impulse. He was surprised that apparently his fear didn’t stop him from wanting to be addressed by the right name. 

The Professor stared at him. “Why yes… Lupin. Pardon me for my oh so rude behavior in not adhering to what you want to hear. You spoiled little maggot. How someone as incompetent as you could ever defeat the Dark Master, as a baby no less, I shall never understand!” He finished with yelling at Harry, his eyes blazing with hatred. Harry took another step back up on the stairs, recoiling from the anger of an adult which he couldn’t quite understand. 

Quirrell turned back to the mirror, staring into the reflection. Harry could see the longing, even from so far away. He swallowed, trying to figure out a plan, or something to actually do, rather than just stand and do nothing. 

“But… Why?” If he continued to make Quirrell talk, maybe he would figure something out. Despite being so far away from Quirrell, he could feel that almost familiar headache throb in his temple. 

“Why?” Quirrell scoffed. “Because it is what my Master demands. I wasn’t always loyal, I used to fear him and his views of the world… I used to fear his power. I was a fool. There is nothing to fear in him but his wrath for disobedience. Yes, yes, of course, people like you, _Potter_ ,” it seemed that he was wielding that name as a weapon, trying to hurt Harry by throwing it at him like it was a curse. “Have reason to fear him always, for you got in his way. How unforgivable that is.” 

“So you are just… following him because he tells you to? What type of person does that make you?” Harry responded with far more bravery than he actually possessed, fuelled by the hurt from being abused with that name. 

“You cannot possibly understand!” Quirrell spun around, taking a few steps closer to the stairs. Harry backed again, now he was almost at the top once more. “You do not know the power of the Dark. For years, I’ve taught students and myself how to defend against them, I have done everything in my power to be safe and the more I learnt the less I knew! There was always something more, something darker, something more terrifying. I searched for salvation, I had to pretend in front of students that they could save themselves, over and over and over and over!” He seemed almost maniac in his rambles, spit flying from his lips. “The more I learnt, the more I had to teach, and the more I had to learn. I never wanted this, I just wanted to be safe, but I was constantly called to do more!” 

He spun around towards the mirror once more, glancing into it, seemingly at his own face, and then turned back towards Harry. “Then… I met him. My Master, my salvation… He entered within me, he bared my weakness, my fears, my regret, and he soothed them. The Dark soothed them… soothed me. All this time, the solution was to accept it. To let the darkness in, not defend myself against it. I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. My Master showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil... there is only power, and those too weak to understand it... Since then, I serve him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. Yet he has been so very good to me. See, I’m no longer stuttering! I can use spells I feared before, and I can even disrespect those who disrespect me… Like… Snape.” His voice turned darker as he spoke of the man. He truly was going on a maniac ramble, one which Harry didn’t know how to stop. Then again, it only helped in giving him more time as the man rambled on.

“Snape has always been a pest. He was always criticising me, always… always bullying me. I know, he has been after my job for years, trying to take it from me. He thinks that he knows so much better than I do, he thinks that he is so much more suited than I… My only regret is that in saving my Master, S-s-snape might get my j-job…” Quirrell turned his hands in front of him, glancing to the side. He almost appeared like normal as he did. 

“But why are you saving Him in the first place?” Harry objected. “You cannot possibly want to return to that time of death, fear and destruction? Nobody was safe back then, how could you want that?” 

“It is of no consequence!” Quirrell objected. “It was bound to happen either way, I rather set it rolling than live in fear. I’d rather pick the stronger side and live than try and fight it. Yes, yes, set the fire burning from outside the house, where it is safe.” 

“Nobody would be safe! Not even you, he wou-” Harry tried to talk sense into the man but his scream cut Harry off. 

“Silence!” Quirrell’s eyes were so full of mania and hatred that Harry stopped, taking a step back once more. Now he was at the top of the stairs. The two stared at one another, both of them breathing hard, although while Harry was breathing hard out of fear, the man was breathing hard out of anger. 

As they stood staring at one another, the child who knew the dire consequences of hatred and fear, and the man who would rather destroy the world to avoid those consequences, a soft, hissing voice seemed to fill the room. 

_“The Stone, Quirrell.”_

“Right! My Master!” Quirrell turned towards the mirror once more. “I know it’s here… I just need to figure this one last challenge out… I see the Stone, I see myself with it, but how do I get it out? Should I crush it? Perhaps the Stone will be freed from the mirror if I do…” 

_“The boy. Use him.”_ That voice spoke again. As it did, Harry felt his forehead throb. 

Quirrell spun towards Harry, raising his wand. Harry felt invisible ropes wrap around him, he struggled, but he was still pulled forward. As he was, he lost his balance, and was dragged over the stairs on his side. He could feel his body bruise as it collided with step after step, coming to a halt by Quirrell’s feet. This close, Harry’s forehead throbbed so hard that he was struggling to see properly. For a second, he thought that Quirrell would stomp on or kick him, but the man shouted at him to get up on his feet. The ropes around him loosened, allowing Harry to stand. 

“Look into the mirror, _Potter_!” Quirrell screamed at him. “What do you see?” 

The green eyed boy glanced up at the man and then quickly forward, into the mirror. Harry was trembling, his body ached from being dragged down the stairs, and his eyes were overflowing with tears. Perhaps this had really been a mistake, a terrible one, but he couldn’t go back at this point. Harry tried to calm himself by thinking that any distraction he could provide might prove useful. Maybe Professor Dumbledore was on his way back, maybe he could still be saved by someone. Maybe he would see his dad again. Harry wanted more than anything in the world to be back with his dad then, to sit with him in their living room, reading books together by the warm fire and drinking cocoa. 

He looked into the Mirror of Erised, and instead of his deepest wish, he saw himself, holding the Philosopher's Stone. Harry blinked. That was not what he desired. Why would the mirror be showing him something which he didn’t even want? He glanced around, searching for something else in the reflection or on the frame. The boy wrinkled his forehead. Could it be that this… was not the same mirror which he had seen back in that classroom, but a different one? If so, why was it showing a lie? It was not showing what he desired… But maybe it was showing what it thought that he desired? Quirrell desired the Stone, anyone coming here was likely to have come in search for it, so it was natural to assume that anyone looking into the mirror did so with the desire to possess the Stone. 

A weird feeling hit Harry, a curious notion formed within his head. What if the Philosopher's Stone wasn’t there at all? That couldn’t be… then all of this would be there for nothing. 

“What do you see?” Quirrell screamed into Harry’s ear, causing him to take a small step to the side to avoid him. 

_“Let me talk to him.”_ Again, that hissing voice seemed to slither through the air, being everywhere at once, echoing without an echo. 

“Master, you are still weak.” 

_“I have enough strength for this.”_

Harry knew that whatever this was, he wanted no part of it. He saw as Quirrell lift his hands, beginning to unwrap his turban. As he did, he was no longer holding on to his wand properly, causing Harry to bolt for the stairs. If he made it to the door, he could run to his friends and their group could get out of this whole thing. If he could just make it to the door. 

_“Stop him! He has got the Stone!”_ The hissing voice yelled at Quirrell. 

“Stop right there, Potter!” Quirrell yelled as he flicked his wand. Harry had managed to get halfway up the stairs when a wall of fire appeared before him, causing him to pull back. He did not trust that the potion he had drank earlier would allow him to pass though just any wall of fire. Harry turned back, looking for another exit. He had no idea why the voice had claimed that he had the Stone, as he didn’t. 

In searching for an exit, he spotted something else, something so unbelievable that he felt as if his mind froze in place. Quirrell had removed his turban, and in the mirror behind him was reflected another face, located on the back of the Professor’s. It was clearly a face, Harry could see a pair of red eyes, a nose which was more of a snakelike slit than it was a human nose, and a pair of thin, wide lips which made a far too large mouth. The lips moved but Harry got the feeling that the voice and the lips were almost entirely disconnected from one another. 

_“Harry…”_ Harry had never heard anyone say his name in so disgusting a way. He felt repulsed that that horrendous face had dared spoken a name which was only meant to be used by friends and those he trusted. That face, that monster, had no right to his name. _“See what has become of me? You’re a growing boy, and I lost everything. Forced to live on this man, like a parasite, forced to drink unicorn blood to survive…”_

Harry finally understood who he was talking to. He hadn’t doubted that the voice belonged to the Dark Lord, but the face had been so repulsive that it had been hard for him to actually connect it to who it had once been. The words of the Dark Wizard lit a fire of rage in his heart, and he bit back before he truly realised that he had planned on doing it. 

“You whine to me about losing everything? Well, how awfully sad for you, now you’re just like every other person you took everything from!” He yelled at the two faced man. “You’re not forced to do anything, you could just do this entire world the favor of leaving it be!” 

Quirrell looked like he was about to blow Harry to pieces, but the face of the Dark Lord stopped him. _“So… defiant. Yet you are scared. You don’t want to be hurt or die, you want to leave this room and be safe with your friends. I can grant you the power to never be afraid again. What worth does it have to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others? You can have it all, they can all be safe, as can you…”_ The face smiled at him, in an expression which made Harry feel sick. _“Join me, Harry. Just give me the Stone, and all your worldly desires shall be fulfilled.”_

“I don’t have the Stone, and even if I did, I’d never give it to you! There is nothing you can offer me! You have nothing I want!” Harry yelled back. “I see what you have done with Quirrell, I will never join you!” 

_“Kill him!”_ The second head yelled. _“Kill him, Quirrell, we shall take the Stone from his lifeless body!”_

Quirrell threw himself after Harry, who ducked behind one of the white pillars. The man chased him, causing Harry to flee. The wizard had completely forgotten about his wand, instead rushing after Harry with outstretched arms, like a cruel mockery of what an embrace was supposed to be. Their sizes and speed were far too different, and Harry only managed to avoid the man twice before he felt an iron grip around his arm. The boy screamed, but so did the man, pushing Harry away from him in shock. 

Harry fell. The stairs were hard and unwelcoming, but he somehow managed to roll down them without hitting his head. The green eyed boy tried to get to his feet, but he didn’t manage to do much but stumble further into the arena and closer to the mirror. He turned to look at Quirrell, who was whimpering, holding his hand with tears in his eyes. The hand had become completely covered in blisters, like his skin had been burnt by fire. The man seemed to be in terrible pain, as he held his arm, staring at it in disbelief. 

“What is happening?” Quirrell whimpered. 

_“Get the boy, get the boy!”_ The Dark Lord screamed. 

His servant obeyed, lunging down the stairs and towards Harry, this time holding his other arm out for him. Harry was still on the ground, and the man came over him like a roaring beast which attacked its prey. The boy held up his arms, as if to push away the man. As he did, Quirrell accidentally leaped right into his outstretched hands with his face. There was a sizzling sound, and the man’s face started to smoke with the prolonged contact. Quirrell screamed again, rolling away from Harry as the blisters covered his entire face, rendering him blind. Harry could hear the Dark Lord yelling at him over Quirrell’s own screams of pain and the ringing in the boy’s own ears. 

He tried to pull himself up from the ground, but his left leg wasn’t obeying his mind, causing him to stumble. As he did, he stumbled towards the mirror, falling towards it. Harry lift his bruised arms to protect himself from colliding with it. Upon doing so, his hands came into direct contact with the mirror. There was a bright flash of light. Quirrell’s screams were cut short, as was the voice of the Dark Lord. 

The last thing Harry remembered was hitting the ground, the noises around him were suddenly gone, making him think that he might have gone deaf. He looked into the mirror, which was pulsing with a strange white light, and wondered if the mirror had either doomed him or saved him. 

Harry opened his eyes, finding that he was alive, and that he was no longer in the same room which he had passed out in. He stared up at the ceiling far above him, trying to remember what had happened, while also wanting to go back to sleep. His body didn’t hurt, but it felt heavy and distant, as if it was no longer his. 

“Harry…!” 

The green eyed boy didn’t managed to place the voice right away, as he heard it as if from far, far away. Yet when he felt arms around him, and was pulled into an embrace so warm and tight that he almost choked, his nose filling with the most familiar of scents, he knew who it was. “Dad.” 

Remus held him tighter, until Harry had to tell his dad that he was crushing him. Then the grip loosened. The werewolf pulled back, looking at him with wet eyes. “Harry, I… I have no words, what in the world could you possibly have been thinking? What happened, why are you… why…” He tried to formulate himself but ended up at the same word, repeating ‘why’ over and over again as he held his son close. 

Harry finally realised that he was safe, that he was no longer stuck in a room with two Dark Wizards who wanted him dead. He felt as if all the fear came rushing at him at once, and he clinged to his dad, breaking down into tears. “I’m sorry!” He sobbed, clinging to the man as if he was his entire world. “Nobody would listen, and I couldn’t just let him return. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have but… But… I’m sorry…!” 

The man held him tight once more, stroking over his head as he cried. “Harry… If you had been taken away from me, I don’t know what I would have done… Oh, Harry, I love you so much.” He looked like he was about to cry again. For a while, Harry simply cried in his dad's arms, far too relieved and shocked by the event to speak.

“No!” A loud voice interrupted Harry before he could tell his dad that he loved him too, after finally having calmed a little. It was the voice of Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to be arguing with someone. “The three of you have already completed your check ups, you are not supposed to be here and cause disturbances for the other patients.” 

“Other patients! Lupin is the only one here!” Malfoy’s voice yelled back at her. “We demand to see him, you have no right to keep us from our friend.” 

“He has not woken up yet, now quiet down, Malfoy!” The nurse responded, equally loud to the boy. 

“The way you are both screaming, you will wake him up…” Neville’s voice spoke up. 

“Please, we just want to see him.” Granger pleaded with the nurse. 

“His father is with him, now please, quiet down.” The nurse responded, actually speaking in a normal voice. 

Harry and Remus looked at one another. Harry sniffed and rubbed his eyes before looking around for his glasses. He found them and pulled them on before he spoke up, loud enough to be heard from his place behind the divider. “I’m awake, you can come over here.” He heard the Madam sigh, but judging by the sound of the feet coming toward them, she had let his friends pass. 

Remus scooted off the bed and stood to the side, trying to appear less like a crying mess and more an adult. He managed somewhat well. Malfoy, Granger and Neville came around the divider, all of them looking relieved but also bothered by the state which Harry was in. They crowded the bed, focusing more on Harry than they did on his dad, much to Remus’ relief. 

“Are you alright?” Neville asked. “Madam Pomfrey said that she had patched you back together but that you would need some more time to recover. Luckily, none of us were hurt.” 

“How could you be so… so foolish as to go alone!” Malfoy reprimanded him. “If only one of us had been there then… But instead, you…” He ended up being unable to find the words, and ended up crossing his arms, looking mad and upset but also guilty all at once. 

“You’re a fool, Lupin… a fool!” Granger looked like she had been crying a lot, and seemed on the verge of tears yet again. 

“I’m sorry.” Harry meant it, but he was so unbelievably happy to see them all again, unharmed, that he couldn’t help but smile through his apology. The earlier crying into his dad’s arms also made this conversation a lot easier. 

They looked at one another in silence for a while, until Malfoy sighed. “Just… don’t do something like that again. The next time you decide to do something like this, which you shouldn’t, but if you do, I want to come with you all the way.” He looked so determined that Harry didn’t dare question him by saying no. 

“A-alright.” He agreed, smiling at the other boy. 

Only now did the children really seem to notice Remus, and they turned towards him. Neville blinked up at the tall, scarred man, somewhat insensitively staring at the bigger scars on his face. Remus gave him a smile back, Harry could tell that his dad was nervous, but his friends probably wouldn’t be able to tell. 

“This is my dad, Remus Lupin.” Harry showed towards him. “Dad, this is Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. They are the reason I was able to get as far as I did… Uh, has anyone explained to you what actually happened?” Harry suddenly had a realisation in that his dad shouldn’t be aware of what had happened to them, so he set about to explain when a soft and gentle voice came drifting into the room. 

“Oh yes, I have given Mr. Lupin an explanation as to what seems to have happened. Of course, I don’t know all the details, but I have explained the trials which lead to the room in which you came face to face with the Dark Lord.” Professor Dumbledore strode over to Harry’s bed, looking calm and serene. Behind him followed a woman with blonde hair and beautiful clothes, elaborately designed with delicately patterned fabric which looked very expensive. Harry only needed to look at her once to recognise her as very likely to be Malfoy’s mother.

Professor Dumbledore stopped by the end of the bed, looking down upon Harry with a soft smile on his lips. For the first time, Harry noticed that there was a collection of candy and sweets sitting on a small table by the foot of his bed. “Your fellow students think that you had a nasty fall down some particularly mischievous stairs. It seems to have been sent some gifts from people who hope you shall become well soon.” 

“Professor.” Remus greeted him. The man nodded at his former student. 

“Draco.” The woman who was beyond doubt Malfoy’s mother addressed him by first name, confirming her identity. She held out her arms, causing the blonde boy to go over and hug her. She didn’t bend down, but hugged him tightly. “I’m expecting a very good explanation from you, young man.” She spoke sternly, but it was rather clear that she was shaken, despite trying to appear with dignity in front of other people. “For now, are you alright?” 

“Yes, mother.” Malfoy avoided looking straight into her eyes, but his lower lip was quivering, hinting on that he was close to crying. It made Harry a little sad to see a family who was that concerned with appearances that they couldn’t actually let themselves display the emotions which they might need to feel at that moment. It brought a very stark contrast to his and his father’s crying earlier.

“Both Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Lupin have been informed over what you have done, as have your grandmother, Mr. Longbottom.” Neville whimpered as the old wizard turned towards Granger. “I will discuss this matter with you a little later, Ms. Granger, but do not be alarmed. You shall be fine. Now then…” He looked at all of them in turn and continued. “Your actions have been very much illegal. You should not have done what you did, or should you have placed yourself in such danger to yourself. Dear students, your actions have been incorrect, but your intentions have been but pure. For that reason, you should be praised, but do by no means interpret that as me condoning your actions.” 

The children all looked down, feeling both ashamed and relieved all at once. 

Professor Dumbledore continued. “With that perfectly clear, allow me to state that your actions were in vain. The Philosopher’s Stone was never there. The entirety of the trials were set up as a distraction as to hide the true location of the Stone.” 

The four students’ jaws dropped, and they all stared at the Headmaster as if he had just turned into a pink hippogriff. 

Malfoy was the first to recover. “What?” He demanded, forgetting his manners altogether. His mother’s reaction was to lightly touch the back of his head, shaking her own as to tell him that his behavior was not acceptable. Malfoy licked his lips and tried again. “What do you mean with that, Professor?” 

“I agreed to keep the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts for the time being, as my friend Nicholas Flamel set up a better place to keep it. I see now that it was the wrong choice to make, as it placed my school and my students in danger, and for that, you have my sincere apologies. However, I realised that there was a much safer location for the stone, one which would not be so easily discovered. The entire forbidden floor was set up as a distraction. I never imagined that my students would figure out what as supposedly hidden on that floor and try to protect it.”

“We did talk to some teachers though.” Harry carefully interrupted. “We tried to tell them that we thought the Stone was in danger before we tried to do anything drastic. However, everyone we spoke with just told us to not worry about it. They refused to tell us anything which made any sense to what we had found out.” He didn’t mean to speak against the Headmaster, but he looked at him with quite desperate eyes. 

“You are but children, Mr. Lupin. It was not your place to worry, and you would have done well to listen to those older than you, rather than take the choice into your own hands.” The Headmaster softly reprimanded him, causing Harry to look away as a feeling of guilt stabbed into his chest. 

“With all due respect.” Remus’ voice was so unexpected that it became sudden. Everyone’s eyes moved to the tall man as he continued to speak. “Hardly nobody is satisfied with the reason of ‘you should listen because I know better.’ Regardless of the matter at hand, it is seldom fitting to give no explanation. It is precisely because they are children that you need to take care in giving them a reason to not act out on their own. They are no less intelligent simply because they lack reference. By giving them the information required for the situation, they can add that reference to the information they possess and reach a satisfying conclusion. In trying to keep them out of it, you have instead given them all the more reason to distrust. It is your duty as an adult to give them the information they need, not keep it hidden in hopes that they will simply listen.” 

The Headmaster looked at him, for a while, it seemed like he might be offended by the way the man had spoke to him, but before he had the chance to speak up about it, Malfoy’s mother raised her voice. 

“I quite agree with… Mr. Lupin, was it?” She looked upon the scarred man, not with distaste or alarm, but with something akin to distance in her eyes. While she did seem like the type of person to judge another for their appearance and choice of clothing, she also seemed like the type to actually be able to read someone based on the way they presented themselves. In Remus’ case, she was likely more wary over the reason as to why he had those scars, rather than wary over the fact that he had scars. One did not become as scarred as Remus Lupin without getting into situations which might make a person scarred. 

Remus nodded over his name, and so she continued. “There are things which are not suited for children’s ears, neither should a child expect to be told everything as one would a trusted adult companion. However, children do worry, and when they do act out, there is a reason for it. In my eyes, the teachers are to blame for not protecting our children enough by giving them reason to refrain from action. That does not mean that they are blameless, but this whole situation could have been avoided if they only had adequate responses from the Professors here at Hogwarts.”

The Headmaster looked between the parents, who could not have appeared more different from one another yet who agreed that their children had been wronged by the adults around them. Slowly, the old man nodded. “You might be right. I shall make certain this matter is discussed by the end of this year’s school conference. Thank you both for your opinions in the matter.” 

Harry feared that the old wizard was about to leave, so he spoke up before the Headmaster could move somewhere. “Professor… I have questions still.” The man turned towards him, the gentle eyes silently urging him to continue speaking. “What happened? I touched the mirror, there was a light, and then I woke up here. I don’t have any idea what happened… Where is Quirrell, where is… the Dark Lord…?”

The group of people looked at one another, it seemed that they were all confused or lacking some of the information. The old wizard seemed to realise this, and be began summarising what had unfolded. 

“Thus, when Mr. Lupin reached the final chambers, he was met by a possessed Professor Quirrell.” Malfoy made a noise as the Headmaster confirmed that his theory had been correct and that Quirrell really had the one behind the attempt to steal the Philosopher’s Stone. “His mind was ensnared due to his fears, and he chose a life as a slave to no longer have to live in fear. It seems that he could not touch Mr. Lupin, as it caused him great physical pain, alongside blisters as if from a fire. When allowing the Dark Lord to share his body, it seems that his body became unable to touch another body which has been protected from the Dark Lord.” 

“So he couldn’t touch me because I am protected?” Harry carefully asked. “Is that what the Sorting Hat was speaking of? The protection from my mom?” 

Professor Dumbledore seemed highly amused by his knowledge. “The Hat told you, did it? Well, it was always quite the avid talker. You are correct, because of your mother’s sacrifice, the Dark Lord cannot touch you. During your battle with Quirrell, you came to touch the mirror in the room, did you not? That mirror was a trap, it is not the real Mirror of Erised, but one to appear it’s image. Upon looking in it, the viewer would see themselves possess the Philosopher’s Stone, which should have been their most desired object, should they reach that point. As your face has not turned to surprise, I take it you did not wish for the Stone upon looking in the mirror, but saw yourself with the Stone nonetheless.”

Harry nodded. “That’s how I realised that the mirror couldn’t have been the same one I saw in that old classroom with you and Granger, sir.” 

“Very clever, my dear student.” The Headmaster praised him. “As I said, the mirror was but a trap, upon it being touched, it sends out a powerful paralysation spell, rendering everyone in the room unconscious. You triggered it, and it seemed to have saved your life in knocking you and the possessed Professor out.” 

“So… where is Quirrell now?” Remus hesitantly spoke up, seeming more than a little antsy. “Is he still possessed by the Dark Lord, is he-” 

The Headmaster silenced him by raising a hand. “Calm, calm, Mr. Lupin. When we arrived to your son’s side, the Dark Lord had left the Professor to die down there. It is my belief that the Dark Lord’s spirit was sucking the remainder of life out of Professor Quirrell, killing him faster. Thus, it decided that its current host was a lost cause, and abandoned him to die. However, as it left, it saved the man from dying, in that the Dark Lord was no longer sucking the life out of him.” 

“So the man is still alive?” Malfoy’s mother spoke up, looking somewhat alarmed. “I most certainly hope that he isn’t still at the school!” She didn’t scream, but she raised her voice slightly due to worry. 

“He has been removed from the school grounds. He is currently heavily guarded, but also unable to speak or communicate. He will be questioned and then sent to Azkaban where he will never be able to hurt students again.”

Mrs. Malfoy nodded, looking satisfied with the answer. 

“Uh…” Harry felt a little weird about asking, since the man had most definitely tried to kill him, but he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty over the burn scars which he had caused on the man. “Will his burns be alright?” 

“Your kindness makes you a very good person, Mr. Lupin.” The old wizard smiled at him. “We do not know yet, they might be able to heal, and they might not. The wounds are not your fault, but the fault of the man himself. You need not feel guilty.” He looked around at the gathered crowd. “I should ask one more thing of all of you. Kindly, do not speak of this event to anyone outside of this room. There are many reasons, but I mostly wish to avoid panic. This will be handled behind the scenes, you have my word, thus I’d like to avoid worrying my students when they can afford to remain blissfully unaware.” At least he was trying to give a reason for his decisions this time.

The children nodded, as did Remus and Mrs. Malfoy. The old wizard smiled at them and began walking away from Harry’s bed. As he did, he began humming a song to himself. 

“Mr. Lupin.” The silence was broken by Mrs. Malfoy, who looked at Remus with a somewhat stern face. Harry couldn’t judge if that was her normal expression or if she was upset about something. “We briefly shared this school when we were younger, before I graduated, and as a… technical family member of your former friend,” for some reason, she hesitated to bring up the term ‘family member,’ it seemed to bring a bad taste to her mouth. “I believe I ask from a position of confidence when I ask if your child happens to be the one called Harry Potter?” 

Harry’s face turned into a displeased frown upon her calling him that name. However, he didn’t say anything. 

“While the world wrongfully calls him that, my son prefers to be called Harry Lupin. I am sure that you will be so kind as to respect that.” Remus answered. A look of understanding passed over Mrs. Malfoy’s face, and she nodded in response. “But yes, he is the person you are asking if he is.” 

“Our children seem to be great friends. Draco was very intent on sending his friend Lupin a gift for the Holidays.” As she spoke of him, Malfoy avoided looking at Harry, his cheeks suddenly red over his mother’s commentary. 

“As was Harry excited to give your son a gift.” Remus smiled back, just a little nervously over speaking to the woman. 

“Dad…” Harry objected, now having turned red as well. It was rather awkward to have someone speak about him like that, even if he knew that his dad and Malfoy’s mother didn’t mean anything ill by it.

“I should have you know that whatever disagreements I’ve had with your former friend, my cousin is not your son’s father, neither are you him.” She glanced at Harry and then at her son. “I have full faith in my son’s judgement of friends, and you will hear no objections from me in regards to their friendship. Neither shall you hear any from my husband.” She nodded at Harry, before turning to her son. “I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you, Draco. Would you come with me?” 

“Of course, mother.” Malfoy nodded to her before turning to Harry. “Get well soon. I left you some chocolate by your bed.” 

The two blondes left, leaving Harry, Remus, Neville and Granger. Remus sighed, pulling a hand through his hair. Granger and Neville both looked a little uncertain of what to do, but after a while, Granger came over to Harry’s side. She reached out and squeezed his hand. 

“Harry, what you did was very foolish… I’m so glad that you are alright. Please don’t be so foolish again.” She reprimanded him softly. 

“I truly hope I never have to be again.” He assured her, squeezing her hand back. With a lower voice, he continued speaking as to not let Neville what he said next “It was a really good thing that you found that mirror after all, else I would never have known what it actually did. Thank you.” 

Her cheeks heated at his words, but she seemed to accept his gratitude. “I hardly think that...uh… Y-you’re welcome.” She absently played with his thumb. 

“Harry, can I have some of your chocolate?” Remus asked, having picked through the gifts of candy and found one to hand over to his son. 

Harry accepted it with a smile. “What, you haven’t already?” He chuckled as his father shook his head. 

“I wouldn’t take any without asking you first.” His dad huffed. 

“I know, you can have as much as you like though. I really don’t mind.” Harry grinned, turning to examine what he was holding. It was a chocolate bar made out of dark chocolate, a brand which Harry happened to like very much. He got the feeling that it was from Blaise and in flipping over the little card on the side, he found that it was. ‘Reckless,’ read the tagline, in Blaise’s handwriting. “Did I only get chocolate?” Harry asked as he opened the package and had a bite of the bar. 

“No… you got a few different things.” Neville glanced at the packages, only to hold up a jar of Bertie Botts beans. “They mostly seem to be from Slytherin students, I guess your House is worried about you. It’s mostly chocolate though.” 

Remus opened a chocolate frog, caught it in the air, and bit one of its legs off. Harry had never liked how real the frogs seemed, but his dad didn’t mind. Harry always wondered if it had anything to do with his werewolf nature, or if it was just that his dad didn’t think of the frogs as alive. 

“Do you want any?” Harry looked at his friends. “I really don’t mind sharing, especially the things which aren’t chocolate.” He smiled. 

“These are some chocolate-raisin surprise cookies, can I have them?” Neville picked up the package, causing both Lupins to stare at it like the cookies were the most despicable traitor they had ever had the displeasure of encountering. 

“Take them away.” Harry lowered his voice, hissing out the words through clenched teeth. His pretend reaction made Granger giggle, and Harry was unable to keep up the act of anger towards the cookies. “But seriously, do take them away. Do you want anything, Granger?” 

She scooted over to have a look at the treats, and then picked a lollipop made out of honey and lime. “May I have this?” 

“Please do.” Harry nodded. 

Neville had been staring at Remus a little back and forth, while the man pretended not to notice. However, he did turn away when eating the frog’s head, which showed that he felt a little strange eating in front of the child. Slowly, Neville opened his mouth to speak. 

“Uhm… Mr. Lupin? Are you, I mean… We don’t really have a teacher in Defense against the Dark Arts right now…” Neville somehow managed to stumble out. “Harry said that you are a teacher, do you think you would come to work here next year?” 

Remus looked very surprised by the boy’s question, but his surprise was quickly replaced with a soft expression. “I don’t think that is very likely, but I am very humbled that you would want me to.”

“Oh.” Neville looked disappointed. “Harry says you a great teacher.” 

“Does he now?” Remus smiled at his son who smiled back. 

“He taught me everything I know.” The son of a werewolf grinned. 

“I do believe that that is far enough noise for one day.” Madam Pomfrey appeared around the divider, looking at them with displeased eyes. “Children, off you go.” She signed for them to leave, and so they did, after waving to Harry and Remus. “And you, Lupin the elder, I accepted you sleeping in Hogwarts once, but you will not be permitted to stay another night. By eight tonight, I shall chase you out myself if you are not gone.” 

His dad looked like a sad dog, curling together slightly. “As you wish…” He mumbled, clearly disappointed by not being allowed to stay with his son. 

“We’re really close to the end of the year, dad. I will come back home soon.” Harry patted his hand. “In the meantime, have some of this chocolate. It’s much better than the frog.” 

The two Lupins spent the rest of the day talking and eating Harry’s get well candy. What had started as a very stressful day to wake up on quickly became a pleasant one with his dad. Harry had woken up around lunchtime, and by the time dinner came around, Madam Pomfrey made certain they both got fed, even making them some cocoa as dessert. She joined them during and after dinner, joining in on the subject of Classic Muggle literature. It seemed that she was a very big fan of female muggle authors, and spent a good thirty minutes discussing _Jane Eyre_ with Remus. Harry couldn’t really participate in the discussion, but it was very pleasant to see his dad have fun. 

Eight came around, father and son hugged one another, and so, Remus was guided from the hospital wing. Harry waved him off, and laid back down upon the bed. It felt like it took him no time whatsoever to fall asleep. He had a long, dreamless sleep, completely devoid of any Dark Lords. 


	18. Chapter 17 - In which Harry Lupin reflects on his self worth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry was allowed to leave during the final day of school, to which he thanked the nurse for her hospitality, and headed for the Slytherin common room. He entered to find Malfoy playing another game of Wizard Chess with Blaise, while Crabbe and Goyle were trading chocolate frog cards with one another. It was as if he had never left. 
> 
> Harry grinned. “I’m home.”

It took Harry nearly a week to recover. He could have easily been patched up with magic, but Madam Pomfrey wanted to make a point out of not using magic where it wasn’t necessary. Harry clearly needed the rest, according to her. Harry got the impression that she might be keeping him longer as to allow the Headmaster and the other Professors to search the school any possible dangers which might still be lurking. That is to say, making certain that nobody else had been possessed by the spirit of the Dark Lord, or that the Dark Lord had remained within the castle. Harry didn’t mind too much, he had a lot of books and he and his friends sent one another letters to check up on one another. 

Harry was allowed to leave during the final day of school, to which he thanked the nurse for her hospitality, and headed for the Slytherin common room. He entered to find Malfoy playing another game of Wizard Chess with Blaise, while Crabbe and Goyle were trading chocolate frog cards with one another. It was as if he had never left. 

Harry grinned. “I’m home.”

“Lupin!” Crabbe and Goyle spoke as one as they hurried over towards him, both reaching out like one to hug him. Harry was captured, feeling like be had been caught by two giant bear cubs. The hug was brief but well meaning, and the two boys quickly pulled back to grin at him. 

“We were worried.” Goyle blamed him, shaking his head. 

“You said we’d go together, you stinky liar.” Crabbe hit his shoulder, lightly. 

“Sorry.” Harry grinned sheepishly at them. They were all far too happy to see one another to remain hostile. “What did I miss?” 

“The Slytherin team won the Quidditch cup.” Blaise came up to him, and Harry slid into his arms to give him a hug as well, one which the boy returned. “It was a very dramatic fight between us and Hufflepuff, or so I hear. Malfoy hasn’t stopped talking about it since.”

“It was a very impressive victory.” Malfoy huffed, also coming up to Harry. He got a hug too, causing his cheeks to turn a little red. “I am only talking about it because it really was that good of a game.” He turned towards Harry again with gleaming eyes. “I’ll tell you all about it later.” 

“He really will tell you all about it.” Crabbe grinned. 

“Aaall.” Echoed Goyle. 

“Silence!” Malfoy huffed at them, looking like he thought that if he just huffed hard enough, he could blow their teasing away like it was made out of smoke. 

“So far, the Ravenclaw house is in the lead to win the House Cup, with us close by. We’ll see what House wins.” Blaise continued to summarise what Harry had missed. 

“I can’t wait for the feast.” Goyle spoke with a dreamy look in his eyes. 

“I miss my bed at home.” Blaise smiled. 

“Do you think that they will have pumpkins at the final feast?” Harry asked with an equal look of longing on his face to Goyle’s. 

“Probably not, it’s not Halloween.” Malfoy huffed some more, managing to speak in between the huffing. 

“They probably have pumpkin juice though,” Crabbe tried to cheer Harry up. “They always have pumpkin juice.” 

“Stop.” Whine Goyle. “I’m getting hungrier by the second, this is bullying.” 

The group laughed together, before they returned to their earlier activities. Harry realised that he had books to return to the library, so he went to get them. When he came back out of the sleeping quarters, Malfoy had won the game. 

“Going to the library?” The blonde boy asked, getting up as he spoke. 

“Yeah, do you have something to return?” Harry smiled as the other fell into steps with him, and they left the common room together. 

“No, just keeping track of my stairs-falling friend.” Malfoy smiled back teasingly. He was silent for a while, and then spoke up. “Your father doesn’t look anything like I imagined.” 

“Really? Your mother looks just like I imagined her.” Harry didn’t look at his friend, but started stiffly forward, expecting his rich friend to complain about his dad’s appearance. 

“I’m surprised they agreed with one another.” Malfoy surprised Harry with not complaining, and instead spoke about something unexpected. “My father is on the school board, I’m sure that he will be very keen on making certain that the school implements a more proper policy towards sharing information with students. Really, forbidden floors shouldn’t exist in a school. That is really just strange.” 

“You are right about that.” Harry chuckled, shaking his head. What he expected would turn into an unpleasant conversation had turned into a rather nice one. 

They reached the library, and Harry returned the books with minor complains from the librarian. He sighed, shrugging at his friend as he came back. “Will you pay my fees if they get too large?” He joked. 

“Sure.” Malfoy smiled, leaning his head to the side. “Interest rate is 100%.” 

“Owch.” Harry laughed. 

As they headed out of the library, they decided to take a walk around the school grounds before going back to the common room. Harry felt restless, it was wonderful to finally get to stretch his legs out once more. As they walked, Malfoy began filling him in on the Quidditch game. The rest of them had been right, he really didn’t stop talking about it once he had gotten started. Still, Harry enjoyed listening to him. To Harry, it was always fun to listen to something someone else enjoyed, their enthusiasm usually made up for him not quite understanding the subject, and he knew he would very much appreciate being listened to if he found himself equally passionately wanting to share something. 

As they walked, they greeted a few Slytherin students on the way, the ones who were also enjoying a walk before the feast. They decided to walk around the castle, and upon doing just that, Harry had a sudden realisation. He turned towards his friend with gleaming eyes and a grin on his face, apparently, he had turned so fast that it had startled Malfoy. 

“W-what?” His fellow Slytherin blinked at him. 

“I realised something we have to check!” He called out, his face brightened with excitement as he grabbed Malfoy’s hand and pulled him along. “I have to see the Whomping Willow.” 

“The what now?” The other boy jogged after him, more than a little confused by the whole situation. 

“I’ll show you, I hope it’s still there!” Harry laughed, knowing exactly where to go. 

Soon enough, the two of them were standing at a safe distance from the Whomping Willow. The giant tree appeared to be any other tree, calmly swaying in the wind. However, Harry knew better than that, and he was getting no closer. 

“It’s a… willow.” Malfoy summarised, crossing his arms over his chest with a more than skeptical look on his face. “How… exciting.” 

“Actually… It’s not a willow, it’s a Whomping Willow.” 

Harry and Malfoy both jumped as Neville’s voice spoke up behind them. When they turned, they found a gasping Neville behind them. Granger was with him, carrying a heavy looking book. The two of them seemed to have been running. “I wouldn’t… get any closer.” Neville bent over slightly, trying to breathe properly. Granger was having the same problem. 

“Were you… running after us?” Malfoy placed his hands on his hips, looking at them with a less than impressed look on his face. 

“We thought that there was another emergency when we saw you running…” Granger panted, correcting her hair. 

“Oh… I was just excited to see the Whomping Willow.” Harry excused himself, rubbing the back of his head while smiling awkwardly. “Sorry to cause such confusion.” 

“So what is it about this tree that is so special?” Malfoy addressed Harry, looking a little annoyed. 

“I’ll show you.” The green eyed boy replied, bending down to pick up a rock from the ground. With everyone watching, he threw it at the tree, which immediately sprung to life. The branches moved like whips, cracking down at the rock. Malfoy yelped and ducked. He was in no danger of being hit, but the reaction seemed to have come instinctively. The tree didn’t calm down and return to normal after deflecting Harry’s rock, but remained swaying and alert. 

“It will attack anything and everything that comes within it’s ratio.” Neville explained. “It’s a very valuable, violent and sentient type of magical plant.” 

“And dangerous.” Harry smiled, looking up at the tree. It was every bit as awe-inspiring and frightening as his dad had told him it was. He was excited to see it, not because of its violent nature, but because it was proof that his dad really had been a student at Hogwarts. It was proof that Professor Dumbledore had seen something which nobody else saw in the werewolf, and welcomed him into his school when no one else would. To Harry, the tree was a symbol that werewolf could and deserve to be included in the magical community. To his friends, it most likely looked like he admired it for different reasons. 

“Lupin, you’re not… planning on trying to do something foolish?” Granger looked worried as she spoke. “Like… trying to get to it and touch the trunk? Many students have been hurt playing that game.” 

Harry laughed and shook his head. “No, no I’m not. I am not going anywhere near the tree, even if I did get to the trunk, I would have to get back again. Turning my back to that tree is not something I plan on doing when it can reach me with those vines.” 

“Good…” Granger breathed out, gathering some hair behind her ear. 

The sound of bells filled the air. It was a heavy, slow sound which seemed to cause the ground to vibrate. It was calling all students in for the final feast of the year. Their group turned back towards the castle, and began walking. They didn’t talk a lot, yet the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. 

Malfoy seemed to be somewhat stressed about something, but he didn’t speak up about anything. It wasn’t until they returned to the castle, and Neville and Granger began heading towards their own table. 

“Longbottom!” He spoke so loudly that Neville flinched, the two Gryffindors turning towards him. Malfoy seemed to realise that he had spoken too loudly but he pretended that he hadn’t noticed at all. Still, the slight blush on his cheeks told Harry that he had. 

“Yes?” The Gryffindor student asked, looking rather nervous to suddenly be addressed by Malfoy, who had pretended that he didn’t exist for most of the year. 

“...Who is Trevor?” Malfoy asked in a very aggressive tone of voice. 

“...Trevor? You mean my toad…?” The confused boy asked in return.

“Trevor is your toad?” Malfoy made a face as if he had just accidentally swallowed the toad in question, causing Harry to break down laughing so fiercely that his eyes teared up. 

Malfoy didn’t even seem to notice Harry’s reaction, he was staring at Neville with a look of insult and disappointment. “The toad… Trevor is… a toad…” He mumbled to himself, before slowly beginning to walk away from the group, sauntering towards the Slytherin table.

Neville looked after him with big, worried eyes. “Oh, by Merlin… I broke Draco Malfoy…” 

Harry laughed even harder at the two boys’ reactions.

The Great Hall was clad in the colors of the Ravenclaw House. Everywhere one looked was the color blue, the proud bronze eagle spreading its wings all around them. Some of the banners moved as if the wind was pulling at them, but most were static. Harry and Malfoy found their friends by the Slytherin table and took a seat next to one another. 

“Trevor is a toad!” Malfoy announced as he sat down, looking at Blaise like the boy had eaten the last cookie which he had been saving for a special occasion. 

“Greetings.” Blaise smiled at them, ignoring Malfoy’s announcement completely. “Have you walked the dog now?” By dog, he meant Harry. It was starting to become a sort of inside joke within the group.

“It seems I have.” Malfoy sighed, looking around in the blue room. He seemed to have opted for pushing his realisations about Trevor to the side and focus on something different. “I think those banners would have looked far better in Slytherin colors. Green would really suit this place better, don’t you think so?” 

Crabbe and Goyle nodded, Harry shrugged, trying to imagine what difference it would make, but Blaise disagreed. “Hardly, this blue matches very well with the ceiling.” He pointed at the deep, blue sky above them. 

Before they could get into a discussion about it, Professor Dumbledore’s voice filled the room, breaking every conversation which had been going on in the Great Hall. Everyone turned their attention towards him. 

“Another year at Hogwarts is drawing to its end. For some of you, this is the last time you will see the school as students, and for those of you who will leave and venture into the life of the adult world, the staff and everyone here wish to great luck and success.” The various seven year students from the different Houses cheered and clapped their hands, some hitting the tables for more noise. 

“For some of you, this was your first year. You have all done well. I hope that you have found the magic world to be to your liking, even if this year was the first you ever heard of it.” The younger students cheered alongside some of the older, who appreciated the Headmaster acknowledging the Muggle-born students. 

“And finally, for all the rest of the students, you will return again to another year at Hogwarts. The summer break is your chance to relax, play, educate yourself, or do nothing of the sort. Hogwarts is here, and will always be here for you to look back upon. Think not of this as parting, but a short break from your friends and your second home. With that in mind, let me finish by saying congratulations to the Slytherin House for winning the Quidditch Cup.” As the Headmaster congratulated them, the Slytherin table cheered, screamed and banged the table. Malfoy cheered the loudest among their friend group. Harry couldn’t help but notice that they were the only ones cheering, the rest of the school stayed silent, waiting for Dumbledore to continue speaking. 

“And finally… Congratulations Ravenclaw for your hard worked for victory in the House Cup. You have fairly won the cup together with good behavior and hard academic work.” The Ravenclaw House cheered for their victory, just as noisily as any Slytherin had cheered for their victory in the Quidditch Cup, but unlike the House which had cheered alone, the rest of the Houses joined in the noise for Ravenclaw. 

“Second place, Slytherin. Well done.” Dumbledore continued, and once again, only the Slytherin table applauded themselves. Some polite people in the other Houses clapped their hands, but Harry noticed that they didn’t seem the least impressed or happy. 

“Third place, Hufflepuff. Good work, do keep up the good work. And finally, Gryffindor, you have made a valiant attempt this year, continue like this and you will have a good chance of winning next year.” Dumbledore applauded with the rest of the students, but it was clear that the amounts of applause were less the lower the house was ranked. Harry made a point out of cheering equally for all Houses, earning him some strange or dissatisfied glances from older Slytherin students. 

“With all this over with,” the Headmaster continued. “Let the feast commence!” He held out his arms and food appeared on the tables. 

There was a loud outbreak of speaking and voices as the students happily took part in the meal. Hardly anyone seemed to be holding themselves back, everyone simply grabbing at what they wanted and then proceeded to eat. Harry’s group of friends became lost in the feast, upon looking back, Harry couldn’t quite recall what they had talked about or eaten, he could only remember that it had been a great night and that he had had a lot of fun with a lot of good food. 

Saying goodbye to Hogwarts wasn’t as hard as Harry had thought it was. He packed, grabbed his bags and gave his bed a pat, telling it that he would see it again in a few months. The strangest thing would be to get used to having sunlight come in through his windows in the morning, compared to the constant darkness of the Slytherin dormitory and common room. 

The train ride home was pleasant, Harry spent most of his time with his fellow Slytherin students in their own compartment to themselves, but he did leave for a while to go sit with Neville and Granger in their booth, they made space for him so that they could talk. Harry ended his trip back where he had started. He felt very lucky to have strong friends in Crabbe and Goyle who could help him get his luggage up and down from the luggage compartment. 

Harry found his dad where he had found him the last time he had picked Harry up from the Hogwarts Express. The two of them embraced and then began to make their way back home. On the public train back, Harry ended up thinking about a lot of things, but more than anything, he considered the identity of Harry Potter, the boy who lived. 

Well back home, Remus helped Harry with getting his bags into his room. He turned around, thus noticing that his son seemed troubled. 

“Harry?” The boy raised his head in response

. “Is there something you need to talk about?” The man asked, sitting down on his son’s desk chair as Harry sat down upon his bed. “You’ve seemed deep in thought for a while now, is there something I can help you with?”

Harry chewed on his lower lip for a few seconds, not because he didn’t want to talk, but because he didn’t know where to start. “Back there at Hogwarts, when we realised that the Dark Lord had broken into the school, or well, we thought it was only Quirrell at the time. Still, he was getting the Stone for that man so… Either way, when I learnt that he was still there, still a danger… I felt like it was my duty to face him. Like I had the responsibility to. He was defeated because of me, even though I didn’t technically do anything but survive thanks to my mom. Either way, it somehow felt like it was my fault, and my responsibility to make sure that he didn’t return.” 

Remus looked bothered by his confession. He looked his son over, and then shook his head. “It truly wasn’t. You should not have felt that way at all, and I regret to hear that you do. Like you said, you only survived, the world has made you the greatest foe of the Dark Lord without your consent, and mostly without your knowledge.”

“I know that but…” Harry couldn’t face his dad as he spoke. “I still felt like it was what was expected of me. Like there was some part of me which had to do it, for the sake of others. For the sake of the world.” 

“Harry.” Remus reached out and grabbed the boy’s hands, gently holding them. “The world doesn’t know you. Others will always ask for unreasonable things, which in their eyes are reasonable, mostly because they don’t have to deal with it themselves.” He looked sad as he spoke. “You mean so much to me, you mean so much to your friends, and you should mean equally much to yourself. Your worth doesn’t lie in any sacrificing accomplishments or in the eyes of a world which doesn’t really care about you as a person. Nobody should be able to ask you for anything when it comes to self sacrifice. You should never feel like your value lies in what you sacrifice to or for others.” 

Harry took a deep breath and squeezed his dad’s hands back. “I know that what I did was foolish, and I shouldn’t have tried to face the Dark Lord alone, but I found no other choice back then when nobody else was doing anything… I felt like I was alone, and I was so happy to have my friends decide to come with me.” 

“No, you shouldn’t have had to do or feel any of that. I am very upset with the school for neglecting to make you feel safe and listened to.” Remus did look very upset as he spoke about the way the teachers had handled Harry’s and his friends’ concerns. “I am very proud over all your friends reactions, showing that they really didn’t appreciate the way you sacrificed for them. I heard from Madam Pomfrey that the Headmaster considered rewarding you for your actions and your sacrifice for the school, but apparently Severus Snape managed to talk him out of it.” 

“What… he was considering rewarding us?” Harry blinked. “How?” 

“Apparently, he was considering giving you House points for your accomplishments in those trials.” Remus sighed, rolling his eyes. “I’m glad Severus was there to talk him out of it.”

“Did you meet Professor Snape while at school?” Harry’s eyes gleamed as his father’s cheeks heated and he avoided his son’s eyes. 

“N-no… I didn’t have the time.” The werewolf mumbled. “Either way, I want you to know that you owe the world nothing you do not wish to give it. You don’t owe it any explanation, you don’t owe it an excuse, and you do not have to sacrifice so that it may be kept the same and unaware. You should never have to give where you are given nothing back. You are worth so much more than I can possibly express, not because you are Harry Potter, or the boy who lived, or anything like that, but because you are my son, and your friends’ friend, and a person like everyone else.”

Harry let out a shaky breath and stood to hug his dad, hugging him close. “I’m sorry for… for thinking I had to put myself in danger like that. I won’t do it again.” He promised, hugging the man tighter and was hugged in return. His dad’s words made the eleven year old child feel relief unlike anything he had before. He finally thought he understood the concept properly. 

It had been very easy to falter and doubt, to think he was the boy who lived. Upon facing the world outside their home for the first time, upon coming in contact with the past which had affected everything about who people thought he was, it had almost, just for a moment, felt like he owed the world to be all that. It was so very clearly a mistake. He knew who he was. He knew he wasn’t special. Most of all he knew he never defeated any Dark Lord, and had it more than confirmed with both the Sorting Hat and Professor Dumbledore. No matter if people wanted to call him Harry Potter and think he was destined for greatness, it would never hold true to reality, and would be just an illusion by people who did not know him. 

“Thank you.” Remus whispered, hugging his son back. “I love you, Harry.” 

“I love you too, dad.” The son of a werewolf replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in the second installment. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> We hope you've enjoyed this work, as it has been a very fun challenge to work back and forth with consequences and changes. The works are likely to be released one book at a time, with varying time spans. It only took a few weeks to write the first one. 
> 
> ♡ If you read this far and enjoyed the work, please consider leaving kudos. ♡  
> It has been an extensive progress of writing and editing.
> 
> Second installment title: Harry Lupin Potter and the Nature of Evil


End file.
